51XYEAR5//2 
HAMMOCK 
L  \ND  *£^t 

HJ.  WHITE 


BERKELEY 

LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  Of 
CALIFORNIA 


A« 


HAMMOCK    LAND    INDIANS 


SIX  YEARS 

IN 
HAMMOCK  LAND 


An  historical  sketch  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  British  Guiana,  with 
observations  and  experiences  of  the 
Missionary  of  the  United  Lutheran 
Church  in  that  land. 


BY 

REV.  RALPH  J.  WHITE 


PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 
THE   UNITED    LUTHERAN    PUBLICATION    HOUSE 


COPYRIGHT,  IQ22,  BY 

THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION  OF  THE  UNITED  LUTHERAN 
CHURCH  IN  AMERICA. 


1 


FOREWORD 

Six  years  in  Hammock  Land  is  an  attempt 
on  the  part  of  the  author  to  give  to  the 
Church  an  historical  sketch  of  a  Lutheran 
Congregation  that  has  endured  for  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-eight  years  in  our  sister 
continent,  in  the  midst  of  difficulties  and  dis- 
couragements that  would  surely  have  over- 
whelmed it  had  not  God  had  some  purpose  in 
its  preservation: 

Six  Years  in  Hammock  Land  also  con- 
tains a  sketch  of  the  Ituni  Lutheran  Mission, 
which  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  only 
mission  of  The  United  Lutheran  Church  to 
the  aboriginal  Indians  of  the  Western 
Hemisphere. 

Six  Years  in  Hammock  Land  also  con- 
tains such  incidents  and  observations  con- 
nected with  the  work  of  your  missionary  as 
have  seemed  of  interest  to  those  with  whom 
he  has  come  in  contact  during  his  furlough 
periods.  These  are  now  put  forth  in  this 
form  so  that  they  may  be  available  to  a 
3 


4  FOREWORD 

larger  number  in  our  beloved  Zion. 

We  have  chosen  to  call  British  Guiana 
"Hammock  Land"  because  it  is  the  home 
of  the  hammock.  The  hammock  is  a  com- 
fortable bed  and  one  that  can  be  utilized  by 
traveler  and  explorer,  by  balata  bleeder  and 
timber  worker.  A  man  of  great  experience 
once  said  to  me:  uThe  hammock  is  the  curse 
of  the  River,"  meaning  that  it  was  so  handy 
and  comfortable  that  much  valuable  time 
was  wasted  lounging  in  it  that  should  be 
more  profitably  employed.  While  this  may 
be  true,  nevertheless,  the  hammock  is  one  of 
the  great  blessings  to  people  in  these  parts. 
It  makes  a  cool  bed  for  a  needed  siesta  and 
a  comfortable  resting  place  after  a  day's 
hard  work.  I  consider  it  one  of  the  notable 
inventions  of  the  aboriginal  Indian. 

We  trust  that  Six  Years  in  Hammock 
Land  may  prove  informing  to  our  Lutheran 
people  and  help  in  some  degree  to  direct  the 
attention  of  our  Church  to  the  great  contin- 
ent to  the  southeast  that  has  so  long  been 
neglected  by  the  Churches  of  the  United 
States. 

That  our  attention  is  needed  in  that  direc- 


FOREWORD  5 

tion  is  evident  when  you  consider  that  the 
United  Lutheran  Church  in  America  has 
only  two  missions  and  two  ordained  mission- 
aries in  a  continent  five  thousand  miles  in 
length  and  three  thousand  and  five  hundred 
miles  in  width, — one  in  the  Argentine  and 
one  in  British  Guiana. 

Our  Mission  in  British  Guiana  is  our  old- 
est and  largest  mission  in  South  America, 
and  probably  the  least  known  among  our 
constituency.  All  of  which  is  an  argument 
for  such  a  study  of  our  Mission  Field  as  I 
have  here  attempted  to  give. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  forty-seven 
millions  of  aboriginal  Indians  in  South 
America  and  ours  is  one  of  the  few  efforts 
to  reach  those  lovable  people  with  the 
Gospel. 

That  this  sketch  may  be  blessed  of  God 
to  the  quickening  of  our  interest  in  the  South 
American  Field  is  the  one  prayer  of  your 
missionary  to  British  Guiana,  the  Land  of 
the  Hammock. 

RALPH  J.  WHITE. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 
SCENES  AND  EXPERIENCES  ENROUTE  TO  HAMMOCK 

LAND    9 

CHAPTER  II. 
A  BRIEF  HISTORY  AND  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTRY    27 

CHAPTER  III. 
PLANTING  AND  DEVELOPING  OF  THE  CHURCHES  IN 

BRITISH   GUIANA   36 

CHAPTER  IV. 
THE    HISTORY    OF    THE    LUTHERAN    CHURCH    IN 

BERBICE    42 

CHAPTER  V. 

OUR  CHURCH  IN  BERBICE  AS  IT  is  TODAY 60 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  RIVER  CHURCHES  AS  A  MISSION  FIELD 68 

CHAPTER  VII. 
MOUNT  HERMAN   MISSION  AND  THE    PRACTICE    OF 

OBEAH    73 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  WORK  AMONG  THE  ARAWAK  INDIANS 83 

CHAPTER   IX. 

THE  NATIVE  INDIANS    92 

CHAPTER   X. 

SNAKES,,    INSECTS,   ANIMALS    AND    BIRDS 102 

CHAPTER  XI. 
SOME      EXPERIENCES     IN      VISITING     OUR      RIVER 

MISSIONS    117 

7 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

HAMMOCK  LAND  INDIANS  Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

NEW  AMSTERDAM   CHURCH   16 

NEW  AMSTERDAM   MANSE    16 

THE  REV.  RALPH  J.  WHITE  17 

ST.  PAUL'S  MISSION  HOUSE   17 

THE  STRAND,  NEW  AMSTERDAM    32 

THE    KAIETEUR   FALLS    33 

RICE   NURSERY    48 

A  DRAINAGE  CANAL  HOKER   48 

A  BALATA  EXPEDITION    49 

MOHAMMEDAN    PRAYER  WALL    64 

MOHAMMEDAN    WORSHIPPERS    64 

A   BERBICE  RIVER   SCENE    65 

ITUNI  INDIAN  SCHOOL   80 

SCHOOL    CHILDREN    80 

ITUNI   DUG-OUT    CANOES    81 

A  RIVER  STEAMBOAT   81 

TENT   BOAT    81 

ST.  PAUL'S  CONFIRMATION  CLASS   96 

EAST  INDIAN  CATECHIST  FAMILY   96 

A   ST.   LUST  WEDDING    96 

INDIANS  GOING  TO  CHURCH    97 

ITUNI  MISSION  RIVER  SCENE   97 

ITUNI    MISSION    HOUSE    97 

MRS.  WHITE'S   S.  S.  CLASS    112 

NEW  AMSTERDAM   S.   S.  TEACHERS    112 

ITUNI    SCHOOL    112 

MOHAMMEDAN    PRAYER   HOUSE    113 

ITUNI    INDIANS    113 

8 


Six  Years  In  Hammock 
Land 

"Lo  our  log-book!    Thus  once  did  we  live 
In  the  zones  of  the  South ;  thus  we  traversed  the  seas." 


CHAPTER  I. 

SCENES  AND  EXPERIENCES   ENROUTE   TO 
HAMMOCK  LAND. 

When  first  we  visit  a  country  the  charm 
of  novelty  is  upon  every  feature.  Things 
that  soon  become  commonplace  then  stand 
out  with  clearness  and  distinction.  The  first 
impressions  of  a  land  therefore  have  an 
unique  value  as  long  as  they  deal  with  those 
features  that  can  be  taken  in  at  a  glance. 

Our  voyage  from  the  States  to  "Ham- 
mock Land"  first  impressed  us  as  a  journey 
from  snow  to  roses.  For  on  the  morning 
of  our  departure  from  our  home  in  Ohio 
the  earth  was  covered  with  more  than  a  foot 
of  snow.  The  trees  were  no  longer  barren 
9 


10  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

and  stark,  but  every  branch  and  twig  was 
laden  with  a  pure  wealth  of  cottony  white, 
which,  catching  up  the  early  morning  rays, 
glistened  and  sparkled  as  though  covered 
with  diamonds  of  the  clearest  water.  While 
at  this  end  of  the  journey  we  were  ushered 
out  of  the  hot  tropical  sun  into  a  cool  house 
decorated  with  roses,  lilies,  and  orchids, 
while  on  one  side  of  the  Church  were  bushes 
loaded  with  large,  pink,  cabbage  roses. 

On  the  last  day  of  December,  1915,  we 
arrived  in  New  York  to  take  the  boat  for 
South  America.  We  were  especially  inter- 
ested in  the  different  ways  in  which  people 
were  celebrating  the  passing  of  the  old  year. 
There  was  much  revelry.  In  the  hotels  there 
was  drinking  and  dancing  all  night.  One 
large  hotel  boasted,  glorying  in  its  shame, 
that  even  the  office  cat  was  drunk.  But  not 
all,  nor  even  a  large  per  cent,  of  the  people 
of  New  York  were  thus  turning  a  solemn 
season  into  an  excuse  for  debauchery.  At 
midnight  we  stood  on  Madison  Square  and 
joined  our  voices  with  a  great  multitude  in 
hymns  of  praise  as  Old  Fifteen  passed  out 
and  Young  Sixteen  came  in. 


SCENES  AND  EXPERIENCES  11 

On  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  January  we 
left  the  dock  in  East  River  on  the  steamship 
Guiana.  For  two  days  we  were  seasick. 
After  we  had  finished  with  this  inconveni- 
ence we  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  beauties  of 
sea  and  sky  and  the  balmy  zephyrs  of  the 
Gulf  Stream.  On  the  sixth  day  we  came 
to  anchor  off  the  island  of  St.  Thomas  and 
caught  our  first  glimpse  of  West  Indian 
life. 

In  the  last  six  years  it  has  been  our  privi- 
lege to  visit  twelve  of  the  West  Indian 
Islands  belonging  to  the  Danish,  the  French, 
and  the  English. 

Our  American  Church  is  especially  inter- 
ested in  the  Danish  Islands,  for  they  have 
since  become  the  American  Virgin  Islands. 
In  these  islands  the  Lutheran  faith  was  the 
State  Religion  and  our  United  Lutheran 
Church  now  has  charge  of  this  work. 

Upon  our  arrival  at  St.  Thomas  we  called 
on  the  Lutheran  pastor  and  were  cordially 
received.  With  him  we  attended  a  temper- 
ance meeting  and  later  we  had  the  privilege 
of  speaking  to  his  Sunday  school  and  ob- 
serving other  departments  of  the  work  both 


12  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

at  this  place  and  at  Fredericksted  on  the 
island  of  St.  Croix. 

When  the  agitation  grew  concerning  the 
acquisition  of  these  islands  by  the  United 
States,  we  suggested  both  to  Reverend  Bergh 
and  Reverend  Larson  the  desirability  of 
those  churches  seeking  affiliation  with  the 
General  Council  because  of  the  proximity  of 
their  work  in  Porto  Rico.  It  was  very  grati- 
fying to  learn  that  that  was  the  intended 
course  of  action.  We  have  noted  with 
pleasure  the  splendid  response  of  the  United 
Lutheran  Church  in  fostering  the  work  in 
these  islands. 

It  was  inevitable  that  our  Lutheran 
Church  in  these  islands  should  suffer  in 
prestige  by  disestablishment  and  by  the  with- 
drawal of  so  many  Danish  Lutherans  from 
the  islands.  However,  if  we  combine  with 
our  Lutheran  ideals  the  characteristic  pro- 
gressiveness  of  American  Lutheranism, 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  Churches  should 
not  recover  their  energy  and  prestige  in  a 
few  years. 

St.  Thomas  was  noted  for  its  production 
of  bay  rum.  When  we  first  visited  the 


SCENES  AND  EXPERIENCES  13 

island  one  quart  could  be  purchased  for 
twenty-five  cents.  In  the  West  Indies  bay 
rum  was  not  so  much  a  toilet  requisite  as  a 
beverage.  I  have  heard  men  say  that  they 
preferred  bay  rum  for  its  "flavor"  and 
"kick"  above  the  regular  rum.  We  were 
told  that,  during  the  war,  many  of  our  sailors 
stationed  at  these  islands  acquired  the  bay- 
rum  habit,  thus  defeating  the  good  inten- 
tions of  Secretary  Daniels. 

We  were  personally  very  much  inter- 
ested in  the  two  French  islands  of  Guade- 
loupe and  Martinique,  because  these  were 
the  only  places  we  had  ever  visited  where 
the  Romish  Church  had  the  field  to  itself, 
and  because  on  Martinique  are  located  the 
ruins  of  St.  Pierre,  and  because  this  island 
was  the  birthplace  of  the  Empress  Josephine. 

On  one  trip  we  were  detained  for  four 
days  at  Guadeloupe.  Early  one  morning  in 
June  we  came  in  sight  of  the  islands,  for 
what  is  generally  known  as  Guadeloupe  is 
really  two  islands  separated  by  a  narrow 
channel  four  miles  long  and  known  as 
Riviere  Salee.  The  islands  are  known  as 
Grande  Terre  and  Basse  Terre. 


14  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

We  anchored  just  off  the  town  of  Pointe 
a'  Pitre  with  Grande  Terre  to  our  right 
and  Basse  Terre  to  our  left.  From  the  deck 
of  the  steamer  we  had  a  fine  panorama  of 
the  two  islands  and  the  tiny  islets  that  dot 
La  Grande  Bay.  While  these  islands  lie 
so  close  together  as  to  be  known  as  one, 
nevertheless  their  topography  is  very  dis- 
similar. 

Grande  Terre  is  flat  and  shows  a  very 
slight  elevation  above  the  sea.  It  is  cov- 
ered with  green  verdure  and  is  fringed  with 
greenish  brown  cocoanut  trees.  It  lies 
sweet  and  beautiful  in  the  clear  tropical 
atmosphere. 

Basse  Terre,  on  the  other  hand,  presents 
a  remarkable  contrast.  It  is  mountainous, 
cloud-covered,  and  mist-enshrouded.  The 
clouds  so  press  down  on  the  mountains  as 
to  give  them  the  aspect  of  a  high  plateau. 
And  the  mists  so  press  down  over  the  sides 
of  the  mountains  and  into  the  valleys  as  to 
impress  one  with  some  impending  doom.  It 
is  told  that  only  occasionally  at  the  end  of 
the  year  is  it  possible  to  see  the  tops  of  any 
of  the  mountains.  During  our  four  days' 


SCENES  AND  EXPERIENCES  15 

visit  we  could  at  no  time  discover  the  sky- 
line of  more  than  one-third  of  the  island. 

Prolonged  Visit: 

Our  stop  at  this  island  was  prolonged 
because  of  the  difficulties  in  discharging  the 
cargo.  This  experience  gave  a  real  insight 
into  labor  conditions  in  the  West  Indies. 
We  arrived  on  Saturday  and  since  it  was  the 
end  of  the  week  we  could  not  expect  the 
porters  to  begin  a  new  job.  Of  course  on 
Sunday  you  could  not  expect  more  than  a 
few  to  work,  even  for  double  pay.  Monday 
was  a  Holy  Day  so  no  good  Romanist  would 
work.  Tuesday  was  "the  day  after"  and 
few  were  able  to  work.  However,  the  delay 
did  not  much  inconvenience  the  passengers. 
Of  course  there  are  always  a  few  who  are 
bored  to  death  at  everything.  But  the 
brides  and  grooms  found  it  only  a  pleasant 
prolongation  of  their  honeymoon.  And 
never  will  they  find  a  more  beautiful  moon 
to  look  down  upon  their  love  than  in  the 
almost  day-like  radiance  of  those  tropical 
nights,  with  the  southern  cross  standing  clear 
and  glorious  like  a  wayside  shrine. 


16          SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

Excursions; 

There  were  excursions  to  the  town.  "Nos- 
ings around"  we  began  to  call  them.  Could 
we  have  left  our  olfactory  sense  behind,  the 
town  would  have  charmed  with  its  quaint, 
dingy,  exotic  appearance.  We  remembered 
that  it  was  French  and  that  it  was  the  tropics, 
and  making  every  allowance  we  hurried  on 
past  the  abodes  of  men  and  wandered  away 
from  the  town.  Our  path  led  up  a  winding 
road  between  bananas,  cocoanuts,  and  other 
vegetation  growing  in  wild  profusion,  until, 
passing  under  some  tamarinds  and  flamboy- 
ants, we  came  to  a  promontory  overlooking 
the  sea.  Here  the  road  was  richly  carpeted 
with  crimson  fallen  petals  and  a  crimson 
canopy  of  beautiful  flowers  stretched  over  us 
with  its  occasional  gleams  here  and  there 
of  bright  green  leaves  through  which  we 
caught  glimpses  of  the  clear  blue  sky 
dotted  with  white  fleecy  clouds.  In  such 
a  setting  the  town,  the  sugar  factory,  the 
harbor  with  its  rum  and  sugar-laden  schoon- 
ers presented  a  picture  well  worth  remem- 
bering. Distance  lent  the  greater  enchant- 
ment for  the  odors  remained  in  the  "valley. 


NEW   AMSTERDAM    CHURCH 


NEW  AMSTERDAM   MANSE 


THE   REV.   RALPH   J.  WHITE 


ST.  PAUL'S 


MISSION  HOUSE 


SCENES  AND  EXPERIENCES  17 

Swimming  Party; 

There  were  sailing  parties  along  the 
sparkling  bay  and  swimming  parties  from 
one  of  the  small  islands.  And  even  though 
our  hosts  spoke  little  English  and  our  party 
spoke  little  French,  yet  there  was  an  abund- 
ance of  hospitality,  cordiality,  and  conver- 
sation. Some  of  our  hosts  had  just  returned 
from  New  York.  They  had  found  it  a  very 
disappointing  place.  However,  we  need 
not  feel  too  badly  over  their  disappointment 
as  it  was  caused,  as  far  as  I  could  make  out, 
by  the  poor  quality  of  the  New  York  rum. 

Roman  Service; 

Sunday  morning  a  few  of  us  attended 
service  at  the  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral. 
In  the  party  was  a  young  lady  Romanist 
from  Boston.  As  she  would  not  believe  our 
description  as  to  the  kind  of  service  she 
would  see,  it  was  diverting  to  observe  her 
astonishment  at  the  Beadle  with  his  cocked 
hat,  his  red  suit  and  white  stockings,  and  his 
staff  with  which  he  repeatedly  tapped  the 
floor.  The  beards  of  the  priests  were  a 
matter  of  great  concern  to  her,  as  well  as 


18  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

the  location  in  the  Church  of  the  Governor 
with  his  staff  and  his  family,  and  the  young 
ladies  collecting  the  offerings.  As  the  ser- 
vice lasted  for  two  hours  and  was  all  in  Latin 
and  French  our  attention  was  bound  to  stray. 
We  looked  in  vain  for  the  Creole  belles  for 
which  the  island  had  one  time  been  famous. 
The  only  truly  picturesque  people  were  the 
black  mammies  with  their  long  trailing 
dresses  of  brilliant  hues  called  "douillette," 
and  their  Madras  turbans  of  bright  yellow. 
It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  amazingly 
brilliant  sulphur  yellow  of  these  turbans  is 
not  the  result  of  dyeing,  but  that  they  are 
all  painted  by  hand.  The  making  up  of  the 
turban  is  called  utying  a  head"  and  a  pret- 
tily folded  turban  ua  head  well  tied." 

From  Guadeloupe  we  passed  on  to  Mar- 
tinique, the  birthplace  of  the  beautiful  Jose- 
phine, the  wife  of  Napoleon.  In  the  public 
square  of  the  Fort  de  France  is  a  large 
statue  of  her,  which  is  considered  the  finest 
piece  of  sculpture  in  the  West  Indies. 

The  ruins  of  St.  Pierre  constitute  the 
most  remarkable  sight  on  this  island.  This 
was  one  time  a  beautiful  and  prosperous  city 


SCENES  AND  EXPERIENCES  19 

with  30,000  inhabitants.  Now,  along  with 
about  half  of  the  island,  it  is  lying  in  ruins, 
buried  beneath  the  ashes  that  burst  forth 
from  Mt.  Pele  on  May  8,  1902.  Of  all  the 
inhabitants  in  St.  Pierre  on  that  fateful  day, 
only  one  escaped  immediate  death,  and  he 
was  a  condemned  criminal  in  a  cell.  Even 
his  escape  was  not  for  long,  for  he  died 
from  shock  two  days  after  he  was  rescued. 

Only  two  of  the  seventeen  vessels  lying 
in  the  roadstead  escaped  entire  destruction. 
A  few  of  the  crew  in  the  hold  and  on  the  for- 
ward deck  of  the  Roraima  escaped,  the  only 
passenger  to  escape  being  a  child  who  was 
in  the  arms  of  her  nurse  when  the  flames 
broke  forth  from  the  mountain.  The  nurse 
fell,  covering  the  child.  The  nurse  was 
burned  to  a  crisp,  but  the  child,  although 
horribly  burned,  still  lived  and  was  tenderly 
cared  for  by  the  American  relief  forces,  and 
is  now  a  charming  young  matron  of  Bar- 
badoes  whose  friendship  we  esteem  very 
highly. 

We  have  seen  many  records  setting  forth 
that  St.  Pierre  was  destroyed  as  a  judgment 
of  God  because  of  its  great  wickedness.  If 


20  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

half  that  has  been  related  about  the  wicked- 
ness of  that  beautiful  and  gay  French  city 
is  true,  it  is  easy  to  believe  that  her  doom 
was  just.  However,  as  to  the  mind  of  God 
in  the  matter,  we  have  no  way  of  knowing. 
If  it  was  a  judgment  of  God  because  of 
wickedness,  how  great  is  the  mercy  of  God 
that  contrives  to  give  a  day  of  grace  to  so 
many  wicked  cities  that  are  still  upon  the 
earth. 

Having  spent  little  more  than  a  week  in 
these  two  French  islands,  it  would  be  pre- 
sumptuous for  me  to  give  an  estimate  of 
the  influence  of  the  Roman  Church.  How- 
ever, one  who  lived  in  Martinique  said: 
"The  Church  remains  rich  and  prosperous  in 
Martinique.  Of  this  there  can  be  no  question. 
But  whether  it  continues  to  wield  any  power- 
ful influence  in  the  maintenance  of  social 
order  is  more  than  doubtful.  A  Polyne- 
sian laxity  of  morals  among  the  black  and 
colored  population,  and  the  history  of  race 
hatreds,  and  revolutions  rising  out  of  race 
hate,  would  indicate  that  neither  in  politics 
nor  in  ethics  does  the  Church  possess  any 
preponderant  authority." 


SCENES    AND    EXPERIENCES  21 

My  whole  impression  in  the  islands, 
whether  they  were  Danish,  or  French,  or 
English,  was  that  religion  did  not  touch 
the  life  and  influence  the  conduct  in  any  de- 
gree as  religion  does  the  lives  of  church 
members  in  the  United  States.  I  am  per- 
suaded that  the  State  Church  idea  has  a 
great  deal  to  do  with  this;  the  general  mix- 
ture of  the  races  is  also  a  contributing  fac- 
tor. The  start  under  the  Spanish  was  bad, 
the  development  has  been  under  mercenary 
auspices,  and  the  climate  is  not  conducive  to 
the  development  of  sturdy  morals. 

To  one  passing  this  way  for  the  first  time, 
there  is  a  fascination  and  beauty  in  all  these 
islands  along  with  sad  contrasts.  Azure 
skies,  transparent  waters,  quaint  villages, 
cloud-capped  mountains  covered  with  trop- 
ical vegetation,  gorgeous  botanical  gardens, 
warships,  boats,  strange  peoples,  naked 
divers,  and  beggars,  all  pass  in  rapid 
panorama. 

As  we  passed  through  the  islands  we 
heard  many  strange  stories  about  the  land 
towards  which  we  were  traveling.  We  were 
advised  to  return  by  the  same  boat,  for 


22  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

British  Guiana  was  described  as  the  "White 
Man's  Grave,"  "The  Wild  Coast,"  a  land 
of  mosquitoes,  malaria,  centipedes,  scor- 
pions, and  snakes.  But  now,  after  six  years, 
we  can  truly  say  that  any  tourist  who  comes 
down  this  way  and  does  not  include  this  coun- 
try in  his  itinerary  is  making  a  most  serious 
mistake.  All  the  points  of  interest  in  most 
of  the  islands  can  be  seen  while  the  boat  is 
discharging  and  receiving  cargo.  While 
here  in  "Hammock  Land,"  real  West  In- 
dian life  and  the  natural  wonders  of  the 
great  South  American  continent  can  be  seen 
together.  The  wise  and  best  instructed 
tourist  will  arrange  more  time  for  British 
Guiana  than  for  all  the  lesser  Antilles. 

The  Changing  Scenes; 

As  we  left  Barbadoes  we  knew  that  within 
one  day  and  two  nights  we  would  see  with 
our  own  eyes  The  Land  of  the  Hammock 
where  our  brethren  in  the  Faith  were  waiting 
with  anxious  hearts  for  one  to  break  the 
Bread  of  Life  to  them.  We  were  to  arrive 
in  Georgetown  on  the  morning  of  the  20th 
of  January.  So  about  six  o'clock  we  came 


SCENES  AND  EXPERIENCES  23 

on  deck.  Everything  was  now  changed.  No 
longer  were  we  surrounded  with  an  azure 
sea  with  white-capped  waves,  but  the  boat 
was  making  its  way  through  muddy  waters. 
There  were  no  cloud-crowned  mountains 
with  tropical  vegetation  to  delight  the  eye, 
but,  instead,  a  low  fringe  of  trees  marked 
the  place  where  dirty  water  left  off  and  mud 
flat  began.  All  the  dismal  stories  that  we 
had  heard  about  this  malaria  and  mosquito 
infested  land  seemed  to  have  their  verifica- 
tion in  that  first  glimpse  of  the  coast  line  as 
we  journeyed  through  muddy  waters  into 
the  Demerara  River.  To  make  matters  worse, 
there  was  a  heavy  downpour  of  rain,  which 
did  not  brighten  the  uncompromising  aspect. 

Georgetown; 

After  breakfast  the  rain  stopped.  The 
sun  at  once  came  out.  The  stevedores  be- 
gan to  unload  the  cargo,  and  we  went  ashore. 
Passing  through  the  customs  with  its  mingled 
odors  of  fish,  rum,  and  sugar,  we  took  a 
carriage  for  the  hotel.  Passing  from  the 
warehouses  that  lined  the  river  front,  we  at 
once  entered  into  a  broad  and  beautiful 


24  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

street.  We  found  Georgetown  a  delightful 
place;  in  fact  the  most  beautiful  tropical 
city  we  had  yet  visited.  The  streets  were 
wide  and  many  of  them  lined  with  stately 
palms  which  formed  natural  colonnades  of 
great  beauty  and  cool  shade.  The  houses 
were  built  on  pillars,  lifting  them  about  eight 
feet  above  the  ground,  and  were  surrounded 
by  beautiful  gardens  of  tropical  plants.  The 
houses  were  all  large  wooden  structures  with 
galleries  across  the  front,  faced  with  lat- 
ticed windows,  thus  giving  the  delights  of 
outdoors  while  shielding  from  the  sun's  glare. 

Botanical  Gardens; 

We  visited  the  Botanical  Gardens  with 
their  experimental  grounds,  beautifully 
grouped  tropical  plants,  and  houses  of  ferns 
and  orchids.  The  late  ex-President  Roose- 
velt declared  that  it  was  the  finest  tropical 
garden  that  he  had  seen  in  all  his  travels. 

Sea  Wall; 

We  also  visited  the  Sea  Wall.  This  de- 
fense from  the  sea  has  been  made  into  a 
fashionable  promenade.  Here  at  all  times 


SCENES  AND  EXPERIENCES  25 

a  delightful  sea  breeze  can  be  enjoyed.  Here 
bright-eyed  children  play  under  the  care  of 
their  dusky  nurses.  Here  the  band  plays 
and  the  elite  see  and  are  seen.  That  night 
as  we  got  under  our  mosquito  netting  to 
sleep  we  felt  that  this  land  had  many  re- 
deeming features,  although  it  was  not  alto- 
gether a  land  of  roses. 

The  Last  Lap: 

It  seemed  as  though  we  had  just  fallen 
to  sleep  after  our  busy  first  day  in  Ham- 
mock Land,  when  our  door  opened  and  a 
black  servant  brought  us  our  "coffee."  After 
coffee  and  a  cold  shower  we  were  ready  for 
our  second  day.  Soon  we  drove  to  the  train 
for  the  last  lap  of  the  journey. 

The  trip  from  Georgetown  to  New  Am- 
sterdam is  an  unforgetable  one.  The  train 
is  a  dingy  little  affair.  I  persist  in  still  call- 
ing it  dingy  although  a  local  scribe  took  me 
to  account  for  saying  so  six  years  ago.  It 
takes  three  hours  and  a  half  to  go  the  sixty 
miles  to  Rosignal  and  then  more  than  half 
an  hour  before  we  are  ferried  across  the 
Berbice  River  to  the  town  of  New  Amster- 


26  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

dam.  As  we  stepped  upon  the  landing  at 
New  Amsterdam  we  were  received  by  a 
delegation  from  the  Church  and  were  greeted 
by  the  ringing  of  the  Church  bell.  As  we 
entered  the  Church  the  congregation  sang  a 
hymn  of  welcome.  After  a  few  words  of 
greeting  and  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving  we 
proceeded  to  the  temporary  manse. 

During  our  first  week  there  were  nine 
services  at  the  Church,  the  last  being  a 
service  of  general  welcome  from  the  com- 
munity at  which  the  Mayor  of  the  town  pre- 
sided and  different  ministers  spoke,  along 
with  one  of  the  Trustees  and  one  of  the 
Vestrymen.  It  was  really  a  very  strenuous 
week  and  the  people  hardly  realized  how 
terribly  worn  out  we  were  with  so  many 
services  amid  such  strange  surroundings  and 
in  such  tropical  heat,  less  than  a  month  after 
we  had  left  our  snow-covered  home  in  Ohio. 
It  was  not  discourtesy  that  led  us  to  write 
at  the  time,  "We  learned  that  we  were  wel- 
come and  knew  that  we  were  weary."  It 
was  all  very  strange.  The  people,  the  food, 
the  customs  were  strange.  We  were  indeed 
strangers  in  a  strange  land. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  BRIEF  HISTORY   AND   DESCRIPTION   OF 
THE  COUNTRY. 

Some  men  buy  an  excursion  ticket,  rush 
through  a  country,  and  then  write  a  sensa- 
tional book  about  its  people  and  their 
morals.  Should  they  write  up  a  Sunday 
school  convention  they  would  make  it  lurid. 
Such  an  one  in  the  person  of  a  Minneapolis 
cleric  (?)  slandered  the  islands  and  British 
Guiana  in  a  recent  book.  It  was  properly 
labeled: 
"Of  slandrous  lies,  a  tissue,  on  our  harmless 

native  land 

By  a  sort    of    parson-thing    from    'Over 
There.'  " 

We,  however,  are  writing  these  chapters 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  informing  our  Luth- 
eran people  about  the  Lutheran  Church 
located  in  this  Colony.  And,  in  order  that 
its  history  and  workings  may  be  understood, 
we  shall  give  a  short  review  of  the  history 
of  the  country  and  its  peoples. 

27 


28  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

British  Guiana  is  made  up  of  three  coun- 
ties, Essequibo,  Demerara,  and  Berbice.  It 
is  known  in  trade  circles  as  Demerara.  All 
three  counties  were  at  one  time  separate 
colonies  and  were  all  originally  settled  by 
the  Dutch.  The  Spaniards  never  made  a 
settlement  in  Guiana  on  account  of  the  hos- 
tility of  the  cannibals.  In  1595  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  directed  attention  to  the  Guianas  by 
his  ill-fated  expedition  in  search  of  El  Dor- 
ado, the  mythical  City  of  Gold. 

The  first  settlement  was  made  in  Esse- 
quibo by  the  Dutch  in  1620,  in  Berbice  in 
1624,  and  in  Demerara  in  1745.  In  1781 
the  three  settlements  were  won  by  the  Eng- 
lish, the  next  year  by  the  French,  and  the 
next  year  they  were  again  restored  to  the 
Dutch  who  held  them  until  1796  when  they 
were  again  won  by  the  English.  In  1802 
they  were  again  restored  to  the  Dutch  and 
in  1803  the  English  again  came  into  posses- 
sion and  they  have  remained  a  British  colony 
from  that  date. 

The  Colony  is  governed  by  a  semi-repre- 
sentative Government.  There  is  an  Execu- 
tive Council,  a  Court  of  Policy,  and  a  Com- 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  29 

bined  Court.  The  Governor  is  the  head 
of  each  body  and  dominates  all  three.  The 
Electives  have  hardly  more  than  the  right 
of  debate.  Theoretically  they  control  the 
purse  of  the  Colony,  but  actually  they  only 
add  to  the  Government  Estimates.  While 
the  British  Government  has  not  done  much 
for  the  development  of  the  material  re- 
sources of  the  Colony,  they  have  adminis- 
tered the  Government  in  an  equitable  man- 
ner for  all  the  races  represented  here,  and 
that  is  no  insignificant  task. 

We  are  personally  of  the  opinion  that  a 
Crown  Colony  Government  would  be  the 
best  for  British  Guiana.  The  semi-repre- 
sentative system  has  not  developed  leaders 
of  a  type  that  would  encourage  giving  the 
Electives  more  power.  Neither  does  the 
practical  politics  encourage  one  to  think 
that  the  time  is  ripe  for  the  Government  to 
be  constituted  on  a  popular  basis. 

As  British  Guiana  is  divided  politically 
into  three  counties,  so  it  is  divided  topo- 
graphically into  three  belts.  Along  the  sea 
shore  and  extending  inland  for  from  ten  to 
twenty  miles  is  a  mud  flat  which  has  given 


30  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

the  country  the  name  "The  Land  of  Mud." 
Upon  this  flat  the  great  bulk  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  colony  lives.  Here  are  found 
the  cities  and  villages,  the  large  flourishing 
sugar  plantations  and  the  extensive  rice  cul- 
tivation. This  is  the  only  portion  of  this 
great  Colony  that  the  casual  visitor  sees. 
But  in  many  ways  this  is  the  most  unpromis- 
ing part  of  the  whole  colony.  This  flat  is 
below  the  level  of  the  sea  at  high  tide,  and 
must  be  protected  by  extensive  sea-defenses. 
Here  the  mosquito  and  its  accompanying 
malaria  are  very  prevalent.  Surrounding 
this  mud  flat  is  the  muddy  ocean,  and  in- 
denting it  are  the  large  muddy  rivers,  all 
rendered  so  by  the  muddy  currents  that 
sweep  from  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco.  And  yet,  be- 
cause of  its  great  fertility,  the  human  species 
much  prefers  this  muddy  strip  to  the  de- 
lightful interior. 

Directly  behind  this  mud  flat  is  a  belt  of 
higher  land,  rising  slightly  above  the  level 
of  the  sea  and  probably  the  sea  coast  in 
former  ages.  It  was  upon  this  belt  that 
the  Dutch  first  established  their  villages  and 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  31 

plantations  of  sugar,  coffee,  and  cocoa.  All 
that  is  now  left  to  mark  these  places  are 
heaps  of  bricks,  the  names  of  the  planta- 
tions, and  here  and  there  an  old  tomb  be- 
neath which  lies  the  dust  of  some  old-time 
adventurer  from  Holland.  The  forests  have 
taken  over  the  once  fruitful  fields.  Under- 
neath giant  crab  trees,  mora  and  bullet  wood, 
can  still  be  traced  the  planted  beds.  And 
some  of  the  cocoa  trees  are  still  producing 
a  crop  of  Theobroma.  In  this  belt  the  popu- 
lation is  scattered  sparsely  along  the  banks 
of  the  rivers  and  creeks.  A  little  farming 
and  cattle  raising  is  carried  on  by  these 
people  but  most  of  their  time  is  spent  bleed- 
ing balata  and  squaring  timbers. 

Behind  this  belt  are  found  the  great  nat- 
ural wonders  of  the  Colony.  Lofty  moun- 
tains, rushing  cataracts,  mighty  falls,  dizzy 
heights,  wondrous  valleys,  and  limitless 
savannahs.  Here  are  scattered  herds  of 
cattle,  a  few  ranchers,  and  the  bulk  of  the 
aboriginal  Indians.  Here  diamonds  and 
gold  are  found  in  considerable  abundance, 
and  it  is  here  that  the  future  greatness  of 
the  colony  is  to  be  secured. 


32  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

There  are  four  major  industries  in  the 
Colony:  sugar,  rice,  cattle,  and  timber.  The 
greatest  is  sugar.  Sugar  has  been  and  still 
is  the  greatest  factor  in  the  life  of  the 
colony.  Sugar  brought  the  European,  the 
African,  the  East  Indian,  the  Chinese,  and 
the  Portuguese  to  these  shores.  Sugar  has 
made  possible  the  rice  industry,  has  created 
the  demand  for  the  local  timbers  that  has 
kept  the  saw  mills  going,  and  up  to  the 
present  time  most  of  the  available  cattle  have 
been  raised  on  the  front  lands  of  the  sugar 
estates.  Some  local  people  speak  about  the 
sugar  industry  as  though  it  were  a  monster 
and  they  would  be  glad  to  see  it  crippled, 
but  the  fact  remains  that  the  prosperity  of 
the  colony  is  to  be  found  in  the  prosperity 
of  sugar. 

The  day  may  come  when  other  industries 
can  stand  alone.  But  it  is  not  yet.  Sugar 
is  King. 

A  sugar  estate  is  an  interesting  place  and 
the  successful  manager  must  be  a  man  of 
considerable  ability.  He  controls  to  a  very 
large  extent  the  welfare  of  hundreds  of 
people.  He  is  both  a  planter  and  a  manu- 


CO 

w 
W 
H 


THE  KAIETEUR  FALLS 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  33 

facturer.  He  has  control  of  the  housing 
and  the  handling  of  people  of  various  races. 
Their  recreations,  education,  and  religion 
are  matters  of  care  to  him.  At  his  table  the 
overseers  eat,  and  their  time  is  at  his  dis- 
posal. I  consider  his  position  one  of  the 
most  responsible  in  the  whole  colony.  With 
him  lie  vast  opportunities  for  either  good 
or  evil.  His  example  is  far  more  potent 
than  he  himself  often  imagines. 

The  peoples  of  .British  Guiana  have  been 
gathered  from  the  ends  of  the  earth.  As 
was  stated  above,  sugar  was  responsible  for 
this  gathering  of  the  peoples.  Tropical 
agriculture  requires  a  large  and  cheap  labor 
supply.  Africa,  India,  China,  and  Madeira, 
all  were  called  upon  in  turn  to  contribute. 
The  Chinese  and  Portuguese  did  not  take 
kindly  to  agriculture  and  soon  became  the 
small  provision  and  rum-shop  owners  of  the 
country.  The  Africans  and  East  Indians 
were  the  best  agriculturists.  All  these  people, 
representing  great  diversities  of  thought  and 
feeling,  are  giving  their  contributions  to  the 
life  of  the  colony. 

We  sincerely  trust  that  out  of  these  diver- 


34  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

sities  there  may  result  a  Christian  commun- 
ity, able  to  solve  some  of  the  great  problems 
engendered  by  race  animosities.  Under  wise 
leadership  it  ought  to  be  possible  to  work 
out  in  this  colony  a  most  interesting  and 
helpful  experiment  in  the  association  of  the 
races.  Would  it  be  expecting  too  much  for 
each  race  to  retain  its  identity  and  yet  all 
of  them  dwell  together  in  Christian  fellow- 
ship? A  great  deal  has  been  done  along 
this  line  by  the  Christian  forces  of  the  com- 
munity, but  much  still  remains  to  be  done. 

There  are  those  in  the  colony  who  would 
have  churches  for  the  Blacks  alone,  and 
others  who  would  have  churches  for  the 
East  Indians  alone.  Such  procedure  in  this 
colony  is  not  wise  and  would  eventually  set 
race  against  race  and  cause  no  end  of  trouble 
and  confusion.  It  would  be  better  if  each 
Church  would  try  to  minister  to  all  the  races 
and  bring  them  together  in  the  same  con- 
gregations. 

Christianity  has  made  many  conquests  in 
this  Colony.  When  the  Chinese  came  to  this 
Colony  they  were  heathen.  The  Anglicans 
carried  on  aggressive  work  among  these 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  35 

people  and  today  they  are  nearly  all 
Christians. 

The  Africans  were  brought  here  as  slaves 
and  were  heathen.  Today  they  are  all  at 
least  nominally  Christians. 

The  East  Indians  came  to  this  Colony, 
Hindus  and  Mohammedans,  and  today 
thousands  of  them  are  Christians  and  many 
of  them  leaders  in  the  Christian  Church. 

Much  has  been  done  and  there  still  re- 
mains much  to  do  as  you  will  discover  in 
making  a  survey  of  the  conditions. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PLANTING    AND    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE 
CHURCHES  OF  BRITISH  GUIANA. 

When  the  British  took  possession  of  the 
Colony  in  1803,  there  were  only  two 
Churches  in  the  country.  One  was  the  Luth- 
eran Church  in  Berbice  and  the  other  a 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  on  Fort  Island. 
These  Churches  were  about  one  hundred 
miles  apart;  and,  according  to  the  "Local 
Guide  of  British  Guiana, "  the  services  of 
their  ministers  were  sacred,  not  to  the  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  slaves  which  the 
colony  then  contained,  but  to  the  services  of 
their  masters. 

With  the  entrance  of  the  British,  the 
Dutch  Reformed  ceased  in  the  Colony,  so 
that  only  the  Lutheran  Church  can  date  its 
origin  to  the  old  Dutch  times.  All  the  Eng- 
lish Churches  were  planted  after  British  pos- 
session. The  following  shows  the  dates  and 
purposes  of  their  organizations. 

On  the  occupation  of  the  country  by  the 

36 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHURCHES  37 

British,  a  chaplain  attached  to  the  garrison 
at  Kingstown  read  the  prayers  of  the  Church 
of  England  in  a  small  room  in  the  Old  Court 
House,  which  might  have  accommodated 
some  thirty  or  forty  persons.  The  services 
were  not  intended  for  the  slaves  and  the 
black  people  used  to  be  driven  from  the 
doors  when  any  of  them  ventured  to  look  in 
upon  the  few  worshipers  assembled  there. 

In  the  year  1805  a  Wesleyan  missionary 
from  Dominica  visited  Demerara.  When  he 
informed  the  Governor  that  he  had  come  to 
instruct  the  slaves  in  the  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity, he  was  ordered  to  leave. 

In  1807  the  London  Missionary  Society 
sent  out  their  first  missionary  to  this  Colony 
at  the  request  of  a  godly  planter.  To  the 
London  Missionary  Society  credit  must 
always  be  given  for  the  first  successful  work 
among  the  slave  population  of  British 
Guiana.  Their  labors  were  heroic,  and  their 
zeal  and  devotion  all  that  should  mark  the 
children  of  the  King.  This  denomination 
has  continued  for  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
years  a  pious  administration  to  the  spiritual 
needs  of  the  peoples  of  this  Colony.  They 


38  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

are  deserving  of  special  honor  as  the  pioneer 
friends  of  the  black  people. 

In  1738  an  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made 
by  the  Moravians  to  commence  a  mission 
among  the  slaves.  Two  of  their  mission- 
aries arrived  in  the  Colony  only  to  find  no 
opportunity  afforded  them  of  instructing  the 
negroes.  Thereupon  they  removed  to  the 
interior,  where  they  were  able  after  sur- 
mounting many  difficulties  to  form  a 
flourishing  Mission  Settlement  among  the 
aboriginal  Indians.  Even  there  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  European  Colonists  pursued 
them.  But  amid  a  variety  of  both  encourage- 
ments and  discouragements  they,  and  other 
brethren  who  had  joined  them,  continued  to 
labor  on  until  1765.  In  that  year  the  negro 
slaves  rose  in  rebellion  against  their  masters, 
murdered  many  of  the  white  people,  and 
laid  waste  the  whole  colony.  The  rebels 
attacked  the  Indian  Mission  Village,  the 
people  were  scattered,  and  the  missionaries 
escaped  to  Demerara.  There  two  died  and 
the  remainder  embarked  for  their  native 
country. 

In  1810  a  building    called    St.    George's 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHURCHES  39 

Church  was  opened  in  Georgetown,  in  which 
the  service  was  performed  according  to  the 
liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England  as  by  law 
established. 

In  1815  the  Wesleyans  commenced  their 
operations  in  Georgetown  and  succeeded  in 
establishing  a  Church  in  that  place  and  in 
Mahaica. 

In  1819  St.  Andrew's  Church  for  the 
professors  of  the  faith  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland  was  opened  in  Georgetown.  This 
Church,  along  with  the  Church  of  England, 
was  intended  only  for  the  European  colon- 
ists, who,  during  their  temporary  sojourn 
here  as  planters,  merchants,  lawyers,  and 
doctors,  all  had  a  common  interest  in  up- 
holding the  system  of  slavery  and  who  were 
in  no  wise  interested  in  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  the  slave. 

In  1823  there  arose  an  insurrection  among 
the  slaves  of  British  Guiana.  The  blame  for 
this  was  laid  upon  the  Missionary  activities 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society.  In  1824 
there  was  a  movement  put  on  foot  to  exclude 
them  from  the  Colony  and  establish  a  "suffi- 
cient supply  of  safe  men"  of  regularly  or- 


40  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

dained  state-church  clergymen.  It  was  re- 
solved therefore' to  select  and  endow  a  par- 
ticular order  of  clergy,  whose  position  as 
paid  servants  of  the  State  should  be  a  se- 
curity for  their  good  behavior.  From  their 
teachings  no  danger  could  arise  to  the 
"domestic  institutions,"  for  ministers  of  this 
description,  paid  allies  of  the  Government, 
must  always  fall  in  with  the  wishes  of  those 
in  power.  So  there  was  established  an  army 
of  ecclesiastical  police  admirably  fitted  for 
the  accomplishment  of  any  arbitrary  design. 

Thus  arose  the  state-church  idea  as  it  has 
been  maintained  i'n  British  Guiana.  While 
it  lost  its  great  object  in  1836  with  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  nevertheless,  it  lias 
kept  the  churches  of  the  Colony  from  the 
development  of  that  Christian  independence 
and  generosity  that  should  have  been  the 
fruit  of  more  than  one  hundred  years  of 
church  life. 

As  time  went  on  other  than  the  Anglican 
and  Scotch  churches  came  to  receive  a  por- 
tion of  state  aid.  Last  year  a  kind  of  dis- 
establishment was  brought  about  by  assign- 
ing the  following  amounts  of  interest-bear- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHURCHES  41 

ing    government    bonds    to    the    different 
churches : 

The  Church  of  England $350,350 

The  Church  of  Scotland 87,660 

The  Church  of  Rome 113,210 

The  Wesleyan 75,000 

The  Moravian   6,380 

The  Lutheran 3,620 

The  Salvation  Army 3,190 


Total $639,410 

In  addition  to  the  above  amounts  the 
Churches  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Rome 
receive  this  year  $26,342.00,  which  amount 
is  to  be  gradually  reduced  per  annum  until 
it  is  eliminated  at  the  end  of  twenty-five 
years.  So  the  Colony  is  still  taxed  over 
sixty  thousand  dollars  per  annum  for  reli- 
gion, which  at  the  end  of  twenty-five  years 
will  be  reduced  to  about  $32,000.00,  or  the 
five  per  cent,  on  the  total  bonds  issued. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH 
IN  BERBICE. 

We  now  come  to  the  history  of  probably 
the  oldest  Protestant  Congregation  on  the 
continent  of  South  America  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  churches  in  Surinam. 

All  of  South  America  was  colonized  by 
Roman  Catholic  nations  with  the  exception 
of  what  is  now  British  and  Dutch  Guiana. 
In  all  those  countries  the  work  of  the  Pro- 
testant Churches  is  now  just  beginning.  But, 
in  Dutch  and  British  Guiana,  there  have  been 
Protestant  Churches  for  about  two  cen- 
turies. It  will  interest  you  to  know  about 
one  of  these  churches  which  was  organized 
almost  two  centuries  ago. 

The  date  of  the  organization  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  in  Berbice  is  October  15, 
1743.  About  twenty  years  before  this  a 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  had  been  built  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Weironie  River.  There 
had  been  great  irregularity  in  the  services 

42 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH   IN   BERBICE         43 

on  account  of  the  difficulty  in  getting  "Pred- 
icants" at  the  small  salary  offered.  So  on 
the  21st  of  February,  1735,  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed had  been  constituted  the  State 
Church  by  an  act  of  the  Berbice  Association 
which  imposed  a  tax  to  provide  a  Church 
Fund. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1736,  Johannes 
Fronderdorff  was*  appointed  Predicant  of 
Berbice.  Hia  salary  was  nine,  hundred 
guilders  per  annum,  one-half  cask  of  wine, 
one  anchor  of  brandy,  and  free  boarding 
for  himself,  wife,  daughter,  and  maid-ser- 
vant. At  his  recommendation  a  choir  leader 
was  also  appointed,  who  was  to  act  as  sex- 
ton and  schoolmaster  on  a  salary  of  three 
hundred  guilders. 

It  was  said  of  this  first  Reformed 
preacher,  that  he  was  so  intolerant,  greedy, 
and  quarrelsome,  that  the  Governor  was  un- 
willing to  permit  him  to  continue  at  his  table, 
so  a  house  was  built  for  him  near  the  church 
and  eight  hundred  guilders  were  allowed 
him  in  lieu  of  rations. 

At  this  time,  it  was  said  that  both  religion 
and  morals  were  at  a  very  low  standard,  but 


44  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

the  church  was  well  attended,  and  the  con- 
tributions came  in  without  much  difficulty. 

There  were  at  this  time  a  number  of  the 
colonists  who  held  to  the  Unaltered  Augs- 
burg Confession.  Differing  from  the  Re- 
formed they  naturally  desired  to  worship 
God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
conscience.  Therefore,  at  a  meeting  held  at 
the  home  of  one  Lodewic  R.  Abbensetts,  on 
the  15th  of  October,  1743,  these  Lutherans 
resolved  to  petition  uThe  Honorable  The 
Court  of  Policy,"  and  "Their  Highnesses 
The  States  General  of  the  Netherlands," 
praying  for  the  privilege  of  free  exercise  of 
their  religion,  and  at  the  same  time  making 
application  by  letter  to  "The  Reverend  Con- 
sistory of  Amsterdam"  soliciting  their  aid 
and  co-operation  uin  this  urgent  vocation" 
and  their  good  services  in  procuring  a  clergy- 
man for  their  community. 

The  petition  was  granted  on  the  follow- 
ing conditions: 

First,  the  clergyman  of  the  Lutheran 
Body  should,  previous  to  his  departure  to 
the  colony,  be  presented  to  the  Directors  for 
their  approbation  and  confirmation. 


LUTHERAN  CHURCH  IN  BERBICE        45 

Second,  all  expenses  for  the  maintenance 
of  ministry  and  building  should  be  defrayed 
by  the  members  of  the  congregation;  and  in 
addition  they  should  contribute  to  the  Re- 
formed Church  fund  equally  and  in  the  same 
proportion  as  all  other  inhabitants. 

This  second  stipulation  was  so  rigidly  en- 
forced that  in  the  year  1790  the  Receiver 
General  was  instructed  to  proceed  summarily 
against  the  Lutheran  Community  for  arrears 
of  acre-money. 

Third,  all  persons  presenting  free  colored 
children  for  baptism  were  required  to  sign 
an  engagement  that  these  children  should 
never  become  a  charge  to  the  community  or 
to  the  public. 

This  regulation  was  the  cause  of  convert- 
ing the  Lutheran  Community  of  Berbice  into 
what  was  aptly  called  ua  mutual  benefit  so- 
ciety." At  present,  however,  there  are  only 
two  persons  receiving  pensions  from  this 
community. 

It  has  been  suggested  by  local  historians 
that  these  hard  conditions  were  made  on  the 
part  of  the  authorities  because  they  feared 
that  an  unauthorized  body  would  be  inclined 


46  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

to  teach  the  slaves  in  such  a  manner  as 
would  tend  to  cause  them  to  revolt  from 
their  masters. 

We  believe,  however,  that  the  opposition 
was  the  result  of  the  intolerance  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church;  for  the  founders  of  the 
Lutheran  Community  were  themselves  slave 
holders,  and  the  Church  as  an  organization 
owned  slaves.  The  Reformed  Church  of 
that  day  was  intolerant  whenever  in  auth- 
ority, as  is  instanced  in  the  action  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  when  they  were  in  power 
in  that  other  New  Amsterdam,  which  is  now 
New  York. 

It  might  also  be  noticed  that  when  the 
slaves  arose  in  insurrection  in  1762,  it  was 
Abbensetts  of  Solitude,  one  of  the  founders 
of  this  Church,  who  did  the  most  valiant 
service  on  the  Berbice  River  in  holding  the 
slaves  at  bay  with  a  small  handful  of  men. 
However,  it  seems  fair  to  conclude  that  the 
Lutheran  Church  had  acted  kindly  towards 
the  slaves,  inasmuch  as  they  spared  only  the 
properties  belonging  to  this  Body  when  they 
burned  and  pillaged  Fort  Nassau. 

Mr.  Rodway  in  his    excellent   three    vol- 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH   IN   BERBICE         47 

umed  history  of  British  Guiana  says,  "It  was 
rumored  that  the  Lutheran  Predicant  being 
unable  to  escape,  had  barricaded  his  doors, 
and  tried  to  reason  with  the  slaves  from  the 
window,  but  they  set  fire  to  the  house  and 
murdered  him  as  he  was  coming  out."  It 
is  evident  from  our  records  that  this  was 
only  a  rumor  for  our  records  show  that  the 
Lutheran  buildings  were  not  burned  and  the 
Lutheran  Predicant  was  not  murdered,  but 
that  he  fled  from  the  Colony. 

The  first  century  of  the  Berbice  Lutheran 
Community  closed  as  the  last  resident  Dutch 
Lutheran  vacated  his  pulpit  about  the  year 
1843. 

The  century  had  been  one  of  continuous 
struggle  and  had  been  filled  with  great  dis- 
couragements. The  first  twenty  years  had 
seen  three  ministers  in  the  Lutheran  Church. 
Of  these  our  simple  record  states, — "The 
first  and  second  of  our  clergymen  died 
shortly  after  their  arrival  in  the  Colony; 
the  third  fled  the  country  at  the  time  of  the 
revolt  in  1763,  without  giving  notice  of  his 
intention." 

The  necessity  of  supporting  their  own  and 


48  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

also  the  established  Church,  and  the  large 
expense  of  bringing  out  clergymen  from 
Holland,  who  either  died  or  broke  their  con- 
tracts in  a  short  time,  and  the  revolt  of  the 
slaves,  which  left  many  of  the  Lutherans  in 
indigent  circumstances,  made  it  necessary 
that  a  somewhat  larger  fund  be  raised  and 
secured  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Estab- 
lishment. 

The  Lutherans  therefore  asked  the  Court 
of  Policy  to  grant  them  one  hundred  acres 
to  be  developed  in  the  interests  of  the 
Church.  This  grant  was  given,  but  while 
it  was  being  surveyed  the  government  showed 
its  hostile  attitude  by  imposing  a  prohibitive 
tax  upon  the  same.  The  idea  was  aban- 
doned for  a  time.  Afterwards  the  govern- 
ment gave  permission  for  the  tax  to  be  paid 
in  ten  annual  payments  and  the  work  was 
set  forward.  The  old  record  says, — "it  be- 
ing the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  members 
that  with  the  blessing  of  God  and  by  good 
management  their  undertaking  would  most 
likely  be  crowned  with  success,  the  execution 
of  their  plan  was  once  more  resolved  upon." 

The    record     continues, — "One     of     the 


RICE  NURSERY 


A  DRAINAGE  CANAL  HOKER 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH   IN   BERBICE         49 

members  living  near  the  land  undertook  to 
lay  it  out  and  put  it  into  cultivation  gratis, 
in  the  carrying  out  of  which  labor  he  was 
after  his  death  succeeded  by  a  fellow  mem- 
ber on  the  same  disinterested  principle.  The 
slaves  who  had  been  waiting  on  the  last 
minister  were  sent  to  the  estate  and  employed 
in  the  cultivation  of  the  sotf  with  others  who 
were  hired  for  the  purpose." 

While  this  estate  was  being  established 
the  individual  members  often  had  to  pay 
from  their  own  incomes  government  taxes 
on  the  land,  poor  taxes  (from  the  benefit  of 
which  they  were  excluded),  and  the  regular 
running  of  the  establishment. 

The  developing  of  this  estate  was  the 
labor  of  many  years,  and  while  this  was  go- 
ing on  there  was  no  minister  to  care  for  these 
people.  In  fact,  during  the  first  hundred 
years  there  were  only  a  few  during  which 
the  Lutheran  Church  had  the  services  of  a 
resident  minister. 

From  the  date  of  organization  it  was 
nine  years  before  the  arrival  of  the  first 
minister.  During  these  nine  years  the  Luth- 
erans paid  in  annual  subscriptions  towards 


50  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

a  fund  for  bringing  out  a  clergyman  and 
as  surety  for  his  support,  and  they  also  built 
a  church  and  a  manse.  After  nine  years  of 
sacrifice  and  anxious  waiting  the  minister 
came  and  after  laboring  for  two  years  died. 

The  second  minister  arrived  two  years 
afterward  and  after  a  pastorate  of  four 
years  he  also  died. 

The  third  minister  arrived  the  next  year 
and  decamped  after  a  pastorate  of  two  years. 
There  was  then  a  vacancy  of  four  years  and 
the  fourth  minister  arrived  and  decamped 
after  a  two  years'  pastorate. 

It  has  been  impossible  for  me  to  ascer- 
tain how  long  a  vacancy  occurred  after  this. 
But  it  must  have  been  a  very  long  one  for 
the  next  reference  that  I  have  been  able  to 
find  concerning  a  Lutheran  Minister  in  Ber- 
bice,  is  that  in  November  1826  the  Lutheran 
Minister  informed  the  Protector  that  he  was 
about  to  begin  the  instruction  of  the  slaves 
in  the  Christian  Religion. 

It  appears  that  this  minister  had  been  in 
this  Colony  some  time  previous  to  1826  and 
that  one  other  minister  had  been  here  after 
the  fourth.  This  sixth  minister  must  have 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH   IN   BERBICE         51 

been  the  Rev.  H.  W.  P.  Junius,  the  last  of 
the  Dutch  ministers,  who  labored  here  until 
1841.  Allowing  this  man  a  pastorate  of 
twenty  years  and  his  immediate  predecessor 
a  pastorate  of  ten  years,  there  still  would  be 
a  vacancy  of  thirty  years,  during  which  time 
the  funds  were  raised  which  made  the  Luth- 
eran Church  to  be  known  as  "the  rich  Church 
of  Berbice." 

From  the  time  of  the  British  occupation 
the  work  of  the  Lutheran  ministers  must 
have  been  increasingly  difficult,  for  we  are 
told  in  contemporary  history  that  the  Luth- 
eran minister  could  understand  and  speak 
hardly  any  English.  Nevertheless,  the 
Reverend  Junius,  during  the  last  eleven  years 
of  his  pastorate,  baptized  794  persons. 

During  this  first  century  there  were  less 
than  forty  years  that  this  congregation  had 
pastors  and  over  sixty  years  of  vacancies. 

The  next  twenty-five  years  witnessed  a 
period  of  deterioration  in  the  Lutheran 
Community.  The  congregation  came  nearly 
dying  out.  Most  of  its  members  were  scat- 
tered among  the  several  denominations  that 
had  grown  up  here  after  the  British  had  ac- 


52  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

quired  the  land.  Only  four  male  and  seven 
female  members  remained  at  the  close  of 
this  period. 

During  this  period  occurred  what  might 
be  called  the  Wesleyan  Occupation.  It  con- 
tributed to  the  decay  of  Lutheranism.  The 
Wesleyans  of  Berbice  certainly  owe  a  great 
deal  to  the  avarice  of  the  Vestry  of  the 
Lutheran  Community.  They  wished  to  con- 
trol the  large  income  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
for  their  private  ends,  so  rather  than  seek 
a  minister  they  invited  the  Wesleyans  into 
the  Church,  giving  them  free  use  of  the 
church,  manse,  and  school,  and  setting  aside 
a  substantial  sum  for  the  support  of  their 
minister.  Thus  the  Vestry  had  services  and 
enjoyed  the  greater  part  of  the  funds  of  the 
church. 

After  having  enjoyed  their  privileges  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  the  Wesleyans  tried 
to  secure  the  undisputed  control  of  the  Luth- 
eran properties,  possibly  supposing  that  pos- 
session was  nine  points  of  the  law.  Without 
going  into  the  disagreeable  details  of  the 
affair  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the  matter 
ended  by  the  Wesleyans  being  excluded  from 


LUTHERAN  CHURCH   IN   BERBICE         S3 

the  buildings.  While  the  vestry  were  pos- 
sibly animated  by  avarice  in  inviting  the 
Wesleyans  to  use  their  property,  neverthe- 
less the  Wesleyans  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude 
to  the  Lutheran  Community  which  they  are 
very  reluctant  to  acknowledge. 

During  this  period  the  greater  part  of  the 
revenue  of  the  church  was  made  to  serve 
private  ends.  This  went  on  undisturbed 
until  the  year  1875.  At  this  time  there  was 
made  a  distribution  of  $5,000.00  among  the 
few  remaining  members.  Some  considered 
themselves  unfairly  dealt  with  in  this  distri- 
bution and  made  representations  to  the  Gov- 
ernment that  the  administrators  were  wast- 
ing the  funds  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  At 
once  the  Government  instituted  a  Commis- 
sion of  Inquiry.  This  Commission  ordered 
that  the  Lutheran  Church  should  be  re- 
opened, and  that  the  moneys  be  put  to  the 
use  for  which  they  were  originally  intended, 
and  thus  fulfill  the  objects  of  the  founders. 

The  vestry,  thereupon,  invited  Rev.  John 
Sanders,  minister  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
Suriname  to  reinstitute  Lutheran  services  in 
Berbice.  Reverend  Sanders  came,  reopened 


54  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

the  services,  confirmed  new  members,  and 
advised  obtaining  assistance  from  some  local 
clergymen  to  maintain  the  services. 

The  Rev.  J.  R.  Mittleholzer  was  invited 
to  hold  these  services  as  recommended  by 
Reverend  Sanders.  And  thus  began  a  rela- 
tionship between  the  Lutheran  Community 
and  Pastor  Mittleholzer  that  continued  for 
over  thirty-five  years.  For  three  years  Rev- 
erend Mittleholzer  held  the  ordinary  ser- 
vices, while  Reverend  Sanders  made  period- 
ical visits  to  the  Church.  Then  in  1878 
Reverend  Mittleholzer  was  called  as  the 
pastor  of  the  Church,  he  having  previously 
journeyed  to  Suriname  to  receive  confirma- 
tion in  the  Lutheran  Church. 

On  the  18th  of  September,  1890,  the 
church  and  pastor  were  received  into  the 
membership  of  the  East  Pennsylvania  Synod 
of  the  General  Synod  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States. 

The  recognition  from  this  body  of  Luth- 
erans was  of  great  importance  to  the  Ber- 
bice  Lutherans.  It  removed  from  the  pastor 
and  congregation  that  feeling  of  isolation 
that  had  always  been  theirs.  It  assured  them 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH   IN   BERBICE         55 

of  a  continuity  of  a  properly  qualified  minis- 
try, and  it  helped  them  in  the  difficulties  with 
which  they  were  then  encompassed.  Of  this 
union  with  the  American  Lutheran  Church 
Reverend  Mittleholzer  wrote:  "The  Lord 
bless  the  Synod  which  came  unknowingly  but 
timely  to  the  rescue  of  this  distant  but  not 
unimportant  branch  of  the  great  Lutheran 
Church.  May  our  Zion  flourish  to  the  honor 
and  glory  of  her  Divine  Master  whose  kind 
and  ever-watchful  providence  has  guided  her 
from  her  commencement,  protected  her  amid 
crushing  dangers  and  changing  scenes,  and 
once  more  revived  and  established  her !  May 
she  ever  prove  a  satisfaction  and  credit  to 
the  venerable  Synod  with  which  she  is  con- 
nected." 

Up  until  his  death  in  August,  1913,  Rev- 
erend Mittleholzer  remained  the  faithful 
and  efficient  pastor  of  the  Lutheran 
Churches.  The  eleven  members  of  1875 
had  now  increased  to  a  fine  congregation  in 
New  Amsterdam.  He  had  also  established 
himself  as  one  of  the  most  successful  of  the 
Creoles  of  the  Colony.  He  was  the  one  who 
introduced  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society 


56  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

into  British  Guiana.  He  also  conducted  a 
school  known  as  Beneva  Academy  in  which 
some  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  Berbice 
received  their  education. 

After  the  death  of  Pastor  Mittleholzer, 
the  Vestry  petitioned  the  East  Pennsylvania 
Synod  to  send  a  minister  to  their  church. 
Finally,  in  1914,  the  Rev.  M.  H.  Stine, 
Ph.D.,  D.D.,  came  to  the  colony  to  take  up 
the  work. 

Owing  to  the  long  illness  of  the  late  pas- 
tor and  the  vacancy  caused  by  his  death,  the 
properties  of  the  church  had  greatly  deteri- 
orated, and  many  of  the  members  and  fol- 
lowers had  become  scattered.  Dr.  Stine  felt 
unable  to  take  up  the  burden  because  of  his 
advanced  age  and  because  he  saw  that,  at 
once,  considerable  money  would  be  required 
to  meet  outstanding  debts,  carry  on  the 
established  -work,  and  put  the  property  in 
proper  condition. 

After  three  months  he  returned  to  the 
United  States  and  recommended  that  the 
Synod  transfer  the  Church  to  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  in  order  that  money  might 
be  available  for  the  needs  of  the  Community 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH   IN   BERBICE         57 

and  that  a  supply  of  ministers  might  be  as- 
sured. The  transfer  was  accordingly  made, 
and  in  January,  1916,  the  writer  took  charge 
for  the  Board. 

Some  might  wonder  why  after  all  these 
years  this  Church  still  needs  outside  help 
for  carrying  on  its  work.  I  am  sure  that 
this  brief  review  of  the  history  of  this 
Church  will  rather  lead  one  to  wonder  that 
there  should  be  any  Lutheran  work  left  in 
this  Colony.  For  a  Church  to  have  main- 
tained its  existence  through  the  changes  that 
have  taken  place  in  this  Colony  in  one 
hundred  and  seventy-nine  years  is  no  mean 
accomplishment. 

Let  us  not  forget  that  of  the  churches 
founded  by  the  Dutch,  only  the  Berbice 
Lutheran  remains.  The  Dutch  Reformed, 
State-aided  and  carefully  protected,  has 
passed  entirely  out  of  existence,  leaving  only 
a  dim  historical  record.  But  the  Lutheran 
Church,  the  fruit  of  sacrifice,  toils,  and 
prayers,  stands  forth  today  full  of  hope  and 
courage  for  the  future. 

This  Church  had  enemies  without  and 
sometimes  it  had  its  worst  enemies  within. 


58  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

Its  large  funds  offered  a  great  temptation  to 
those  who  had  not  toiled  for  them,  and  they 
were  cruelly  dissipated.  And  yet  God  has 
kept  our  Church  here  and  his  care  of  her  in 
the  past  cannot  but  bring  to  our  hearts  the 
assurance  that  he  will  bless  her  in  the  future. 

We  need  not  wonder  that  more  was  not 
accomplished  during  the  first  century.  We 
marvel  that  anything  was  left  after  the 
Wesleyan  Occupation.  Under  Pastor  Mittle- 
holzer  a  great  work  was  accomplished.  The 
Lutheran  Church  today  is  still  an  influence 
in  Berbice.  Our  work  is  moving  forward. 
To  many  the  Lutheran  Church  may  seem 
both  slow  and  weak,  but  the  wise  men  ob- 
served,— "The  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  nor 
the  battle  to  the  strong." 

God  accomplishes  His  purposes  slowly, — 
"One  day  with  the  Lord  is  as  a  thousand 
years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day." 
The  future  we  leave  in  the  hands  of  God 
who  has  brought  us  through  one  hundred 
and  seventy-nine  years.  For  the  past  under 
His  providence  and  Divine  blessing  we 
thank  Him  and  praise  Him  for  His  loving 
kindness  which  endureth  forever. 


LUTHERAN  CHURCH  IN  BERBICE        59 

"Soli  Deo  Gloria"    is    written    over    our 
door. 

"Encompassed  by  seditious   foes 
Our  Zion  hath  her  anguish  known, 
Still  in  His  name  she  overthrows 
And  glory  gives  to  God  alone. 

Zeal  for  her  Master  be  her  care, 
Nor  e'er  His  sacred  cause  disown, 
His  lambs  like  jewels,  may  she  rear 
And  glory  give  to  God  alone." 


CHAPTER  V. 

OUR  CHURCH  IN  BERBICE  AS  IT  Is  TODAY. 

Leaving  the  past  we  wish  to  present  to 
you  a  picture  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
Berbice  as  it  now  is.  We  wish  you  to  see 
our  equipment,  our  people,  our  plans,  and 
our  hopes. 

The  original  building  of  this  congregation 
was  erected  at  Fort  Nassau  when  that  Dutch 
fort  was  located  fifty  miles  up  the  Berbice 
River.  Today  that  old  fort  is  marked  only 
by  some  cabbage  palms  that  tower  high 
above  a  dense  forest  and  by  piles  of  old 
brick  that  mingle  with  the  roots  of  the  trees. 
For  it  is  now  considerably  over  one  hundred 
years  since  that  old  fort  and  town  were  de- 
serted and  New  Amsterdam  was  founded  at 
the  River's  mouth. 

Our  Church  was  moved  to  the  new  town 
and  we  are  very  fortunate  in  having  a  pic- 
ture of  the  new  building  erected  by  the 
Dutch.  This  building  still  forms  the  main 
part  of  our  Church,  after  having  done  ser- 

60 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  BERBICE  AS  IT  IS  TODAY      61 

vice  for  over  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
years.  This  building  was  added  to  about 
forty  years  ago  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev- 
erend Mittleholzer  and  was  repaired  and 
painted  under  the  present  pastorate.  This 
building  is  unique  in  this  Colony  in  its  archi- 
tecture and  presents  a  very  pretty  picture, 
standing  as  it  does  surrounded  by  royal 
palms.  It  is  valued  at  about  $10,000.00. 

In  the  same  yard  stands  the  old  Manse. 
There  are  timbers  in  it  that  have  been  in  use 
more  than  a  century.  However,  upon  our 
arrival  in  the  Colony  we  found  the  house  in 
what  looked  more  like  ruins  than  a  home. 
The  renovation  cost  a  little  over  $3,000.00, 
of  which  amount  about  half  was  paid  by  the 
Board  and  half  from  local  funds.  Reno- 
vated it  is  a  large,  cool,  and  comfortable 
home,  and  is  valued  at  about  $5,000.00. 

This  Church  and  Manse  face  the  Strand, 
which  is  the  best  business  street.  They  are 
located  in  about  the  center  of  the  town.  The 
lot  on  which  they  stand  extends  for  a  full 
thousand  feet  to  Main  Street.  And  facing 
Main  Street  there  are  two  other  buildings 
belonging  to  the  Church.  The  larger  house 


62  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

is  rented  and  the  smaller  one  furnishes  a 
home  for  our  East  Indian  Catechist. 

The  Church  also  owns  a  small  piece  of 
land  in  the  town  facing  Backdam,  which  is 
leased  as  a  site  for  the  Anglican  East  Indian 
Church.  The  property  of  the  Church 
in  New  Amsterdam  is  worth  nearly 
$20,000.00. 

The  Church  also  has  something  over  a 
hundred  shares  in  the  Royal  Bank  of  Can- 
ada. The  income  is  about  $1,700.00  a  year 
from  the  property  and  funds  left  in  trust 
by  the  original  founders.  Of  this  amount, 
$1,200.00  is  paid  towards  pastor's  salary, 
$264.00  is  paid  in  pensions,  and  the  balance 
for  taxes,  insurance,  and  administration. 
During  the  World  War  the  bank  shares 
paid  extra  dividends  and  the  money  was 
utilized  for  repairs  on  the  Main  Street 
house  and  for  building  a  fence  around  the 
property. 

The  congregation  in  New  Amsterdam 
also  contributes  according  to  its  ability  for 
local  expenses.  While  the  congregation  is 
small  and  the  people  are  mostly  poor,  yet 
their  generosity  is  very  marked  and  some  of 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  BERBICE  AS  IT  IS  TODAY      63 

their  sacrifices  very  commendable.  The 
assistance  that  the  work  receives  from 
America  is  so  distributed  that  it  does  not  in 
any  way  destroy  the  self-reliance  of  the 
people.  The  Board  pays  for  nothing  that 
it  is  possible  for  the  people  to  pay  for 
themselves. 

Our  congregation  in  New  Amsterdam  is 
made  up  of  Blacks,  Colored,  and  East  In- 
dians. The  blacks  are  the  descendants  of 
the  old-time  slave  population.  The  colored 
are  those  of  mixed  blood.  And  the  East 
Indians  are  from  India.  There  are  no 
people  entirely  white  connected  with  the  con- 
gregation, but  there  are  many  who  could 
pass  for  white  should  they  so  desire.  How- 
ever, let  it  be  understood  that  our  people  are 
intelligent  and  cultured  and  show  as  fine  a 
type  of  Christianity  as  can  be  found  in  any 
place  in  the  world.  We  are  proud  of  our 
Lutheran  people  in  British  Guiana,  and  we 
are  sure  that  you  would  be,  too,  did  you 
know  them. 

Will  you  not  come  and  spend  a  Sunday 
with  us?  At  nine  o'clock  our  first  service 
begins.  You  will  not  be  able  to  understand 


64  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

one  word,  but  you  will  know  that  it  is  beau- 
tiful because  of  the  reverent  spirit  mani- 
fested. It  is  our  Hindu  service.  A  hymn 
is  first  sung  and  then  our  morning  service 
is  rendered  in  Hindu,  then  an  address  by 
the  Catechist  and  prayer  and  the  benedic- 
tion. It  is  a  small  assembly,  for  work  with 
the  East  Indian  is  very  slow  in  this  Colony. 
And  yet  there  is  a  sweetness  and  a  pathos 
in  those  Hindu  hymns  that  you  will  not  soon 
forget. 

We  have  Hindu  temples  and  Mohamme- 
dan mosques  all  around  us,  and  the  Hindu 
and  the  Mohammedan  have  a  moral  code 
that  is  very  easy  to  the  natural  man,  and 
so  we  go  on  slowly,  hoping  and  praying  that 
somehow  in  God's  own  time  some  will  be 
saved.  Especially  do  we  long  for  those 
bright-eyed  boys  and  girls  who  are  coming 
somewhat  under  our  care.  This  is  the  only 
work  here  in  New  Amsterdam  that  is 
financed  by  our  Board.  We  look  for  the 
time  when  it  shall  grow  into  a  great  work. 

At  eleven  o'clock  we  have  the  regular 
morning  worship.  Our  full  service  is  again 
used.  This  time  in  English  just  as  you  have 


MOHAMMEDAN  PRAYER  WALL 


MOHAMMEDAN  WORSHIPPERS 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  BERBICE  AS  IT  IS  TODAY      65 

it  at  home.  The  same  sweet  songs  are  sung, 
the  same  lessons  are  read,  and  the  same 
kind  of  sermon  is  preached.  The  singing  is 
hearty.  At  first  it  might  sound  a  little 
strange  to  you  but  you  will  like  the  mellow- 
ing and  softening  that  you  associate  with  the 
Jubilee  Singers  at  the  home  Chautauqua. 

There  is  a  special  reverence  in  the  wor- 
ship of  these  people  that  would  shame  many 
a  congregation  at  home.  No  one  comes  to 
the  service  who  does  not  begin  with  a  silent 
prayer  and  no  one  leaves  without  a  quiet 
moment  of  prayer  after  the  service. 

At  2.30  in  the  afternoon  our  Sunday 
school  meets.  All  our  Lutheran  literature 
is  used  and  paid  for  by  the  offerings  of  the 
school.  Classes  are  well  taught.  The  order 
is  exceptionally  good,  and  everything  is  done 
with  reverence. 

After  the  regular  Sunday  school,  classes 
are  held  in  the  different  ends  of  the  town 
for  those  poor  children  who  cannot  come  to 
the  regular  school  because  of  "circum- 
stances." "Circumstances"  usually  means 
lack  of  boots,  or  trousers,  or  a  good  dress. 
A  shirt  is  considered  quite  enough  for  at- 


66  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

tendance  at  these  classes.  It  is  nothing 
unusual  to  see  little  boys  on  the  street  with 
only  a  shirt,  but  of  course  they  would  feel 
ashamed  to  come  to  school  in  that  alone. 
When  the  pastor  goes  out  unexpectedly  to 
visit  these  classes,  there  is  always  a  flying  of 
shirt  tails  and  a  borrowing  of  pants  that 
they  might  return  and  show  how  well  they 
have  learned  their  lessons. 

At  a  recent  review  one  little  chap  asked, 
as  we  were  about  to  leave,  whether  all  the 
prayers  had  been  said.  He  had  come  late 
and  had  not  heard  the  opening  prayer.  We 
told  him  that  prayers  had  been  said  but  that 
we  would  pray  again  and  asked  him  to  pray 
and  any  others  who  might  desire.  And  then 
several  little  children  not  over  twelve  years 
of  age  offered  beautiful  prayers  that  they 
had  learned  in  their  class  from  their  teacher. 
I  wonder  how  many  little  boys  at  home 
would  stand  up  among  their  fellows  and  lead 
in  prayer.  Two  of  these  boys  were  East 
Indians  whose  parents  are  heathen. 

At  seven  o'clock  we  have  Vespers.  The 
regular  Vesper  Service  with  a  sermon.  On 
Monday  evening  Prayer  Meeting.  On 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  BERBICE  AS  IT  IS  TODAY      67 

Tuesday  evening  Luther  League.  On  Wed- 
nesday evening  a  mid-week  service  with 
Vespers  and  sermon.  So  we  go  on,  praying, 
preaching,  teaching.  We  do  not  complain 
that  our  congregation  is  small  and  that  re- 
sults are  not  always  in  evidence.  We  thank 
God  that  we  have  strength  to  witness  for 
him  in  this  place  and  among  these  different 
peoples,  and  that  he  has  preserved  this 
Church  for  nearly  two  centuries  and  still 
gives  to  her  the  privilege  of  proclaiming  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  His  Holy  Word. 

Here  in  New  Amsterdam  our  congrega- 
tion numbers  about  one  hundred  and  sixty, 
including  our  little  handful  of  East  Indians. 
Our  Sunday  school  has  an  average  attend- 
ance of  about  one  hundred  and  our  outdoor 
classes  have  nearly  fifty  enrolled.  It  is  a 
little  work  but  we  doubt  not  that  with  the 
blessing  of  God  it  shall  grow  through  the 
years  and  shall  be  the  means  of  bringing 
many  into  the  Kingdom. 

This  work  is  very  much  like  the  work  in 
any  Church  at  home.  The  only  difference 
is  the  country,  the  climate,  and  the  nations 
represented 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  RIVER  CHURCHES  AS  A  MISSION  FIELD. 

We  now  come  to  a  consideration  of  what 
constitutes  the  real  mission  field  of  our 
Church  in  British  Guiana,  the  River 
Churches.  Our  work  in  New  Amsterdam  is 
that  of  an  old-established  and  practically 
self-supporting  congregation.  Only  our  East 
Indian  work  there  is  new,  and  it  is,  and 
should  be,  the  logical  work  of  every  congre- 
gation in  this  colony.  But  our  river  work 
is  in  a  different  class. 

While  it  is  true  that  even  here  we  have 
no  new  field,  inasmuch  as  this  work  has  been 
carried  on  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
yet  this  work  has  been  undeveloped  and  must 
remain  so  to  a  certain  extent  until  a  minister 
shall  be  able  to  give  the  majority  of  his  time 
to  this  work  alone. 

The  best  developed  of  our  River  Churches 
is  St.  Paul's  Mission  at  Bien  Content.  There 
is  connected  with  it  a  day  school  known  as 
the  Maria  Henriette  Lutheran  School.  Here 

68 


THE  RIVER  CHURCHES  AS  A  MISSION  FIELD    69 

we  found  a  flourishing  congregation  and 
school  upon  our  arrival  in  the  Colony. 

We  have  in  this  congregation  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  members,  a  Sunday  school, 
a  Luther  League,  and  a  day  school  with 
fifty-four  children  enrolled.  The  healthy 
condition  of  the  work  is  owing  a  great  deal 
to  the  zeal  and  intelligence  of  the  former 
Catechist,  Mr.  J.  F.  Hartman,  Sr.,  who 
gave  over  thirty  years  to  the  work  in  this 
field. 

Pastor  Mittleholzer  had  attended  to  the 
erection  at  this  place  of  what  is  the  largest 
River  Church.  The  school  however  has 
only  a  thatched-roof  building.  We  have  re- 
cently completed  a  comfortable  Mission 
House  and  have  thus  secured  for  the  first 
time  in  six  years  a  decent  place  for  my  own 
accommodation  on  the  River. 

At  St.  Paul's  we  have  a  regular  Vestry  and 
the  congregational  life  is  well  developed. 
During  the  life  of  Catechist  Hartman,  who 
very  recently  passed  to  his  reward,  the  can- 
didate classes  were  very  carefully  instructed 
and  all  the  church  services  properly  con- 
ducted, and  the  people  were  wisely  admon- 


70  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

ished  from  Sunday  to  Sunday.  Up  to  the 
present  time  we  have  been  unable  to  fill  the 
vacancy  made  by  this  good  man's  death. 

The  people  here  contribute  towards  the 
maintenance  of  their  own  church  and  to- 
wards the  traveling  expenses  of  the  minister 
when  he  visits  them.  In  the  building  of  the 
Mission  House  they  contributed  in  labor  and 
materials  at  least  six  hundred  dollars.  The 
balance  was  paid  by  our  Board. 

Upon  my  arrival  in  the  Colony  the  Gov- 
ernment was  contributing  $172.00  a  year 
toward  the  maintenance  of  our  school  here. 
This  amount  has  now  been  increased  to  more 
than  $600.00.  It  is  mostly  absorbed  in  in- 
creased teachers'  salaries.  Unfortunately 
we  cannot  report  that  it  has  stirred  the 
teachers  to  any  greater  devotion  to  their 
duty  or  efficiency  in  their  work. 

This  was  our  only  school  in  the  Colony 
six  years  ago.  We  now  have  a  school  at 
St.  Lust  and  one  at  Ituni.  Both  are  receiv- 
ing government  grants.  The  grant  for  Ituni 
is  $180.00  a  year  and  for  St.  Lust  $150.00. 
These  grants  are  not  sufficient  for  the 
schools.  Our  Board  makes  up  the  balance 


THE  RIVER  CHURCHES  AS  A  MISSION  FIELD    71 

and  also  finances  the  founding  of  these 
schools  and  their  expenses  until  we  are  able 
to  meet  the  Government  requirements. 

At  each  of  our  three  River  Churches  we 
employ  a  Catechist,  who,  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  attends  to  the  congregation  during 
the  absence  of  the  pastor.  We  have  re- 
ceived the  past  year  from  the  Government, 
Bonds  amounting  to  $3,620.00,  paying  in- 
terest at  5  per  cent,  the  income  from  which 
is  to  be  used  towards  paying  these  Cate- 
chists  on  the  River.  All  additional  expenses 
connected  with  this  work  are  cared  for  by 
the  Board,  which  has  also  made  possible  a 
second  Mission  House  at  Ituni.  So  it  is  evi- 
dent that  our  Church  in  British  Guiana  is  in 
a  fair  financial  condition  for  carrying  on  its 
present  work  in  four  churches  and  three 
schools,  with  its  invested  funds,  its  school 
grants,  its  government  bonds,  and  its  con- 
tributing members.  However,  there  are 
some  very  necessary  expenses  that  they  are 
unable  to  pay.  It  is  necessary  that  a  pastor 
laboring  in  this  field  should  have  frequent 
furloughs  and  opportunities  to  return  home. 
This  is  expensive  and  our  funds  cannot  pay 


72  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

these  expenses.  It  is  necessary  that  our 
work  be  extended,  and  this  would  be  alto- 
gether too  slow  an  operation  were  it  neces- 
sary to  wait  for  local  financing.  Another 
minister  is  needed  in  our  Church  work  in 
order  to  inaugurate  any  forward  movement, 
and  it  would  be  necessary  that  he  receive  his 
salary  from  the  outside.  We  need  two 
church  buildings  on  the  River,  one  at  St. 
Lust  and  one  at  Ituni.  While  the  people  at 
both  places  are  ready  and  willing  to  donate 
their  labor  and  whatever  raw  material  they 
might  have  on  their  land,  they  are  not  able 
to  furnish  ready  cash  for  such  a  venture.  We 
also  need  a  new  school  house  at  Maria  Hen- 
riette  that  can  also  be  used  as  a  social  center. 
For  all  these  improvements  we  shall  need 
the  help  of  the  home  Church.  We  also  need 
a  church  in  Georgetown,  the  capital  city  of 
the  Colony.  This  is  most  urgent  for  our 
members  are  constantly  going  down  there  to 
live  and  we  should  follow  them  and  care  for 
them.  Besides  Georgetown  is  destined  to 
become  one  of  the  great  cities  of  South 
America,  and  we  do  not  wish  to  lament  an- 
other opportunity  missed. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MOUNT  HERMON  MISSION  AND  THE  PRAC- 
TICE OF  OBEAH. 

Mt.  Hermon  is  the  name  of  our  River 
Mission  situated  at  St.  Lust.  This  church 
is  near  the  intersection  of  the  Weironie  and 
Berbice  Rivers  and  the  spot  where  the  first 
church  was  erected  in  Berbice  in  1723. 

This  portion  of  the  River  district  is  very 
different  today  than  it  was  two  hundred 
years  ago  under  the  Dutch.  Then  there 
were  fine  plantations  of  coffee,  cocoa,  and 
sugar  upon  the  banks  of  the  River.  Then 
there  were  the  fine,  large,  cool  houses  of  the 
planters  with  their  true  tropical  hospitality. 
Bridle  paths  joined  the  different  estates  and 
comfortable  tent  boats  passed  up  and  down 
the  river  with  their  crews  of  black  oarsmen. 
Sugar  factories,  coffee  and  cocoa  drying 
houses  and  quarters  for  the  slaves  were 
everywhere  evident,  and  large  well-kept 
fields  of  plantains,  bananas,  and  pineapples 
supplied  food  for  the  considerable  population. 

73 


74  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

Now  a  few  thatched-roof  huts  can  be  seen 
sparsely  scattered  along  the  river.  Crowd- 
ing down  upon  them  is  the  dense  bush  with 
only  a  little  path  leading  to  the  landing.  A 
few  sticks  of  furniture  and  a  canister  with 
a  few  clothes  are  all  that  are  to  be  found 
in  these  abodes.  A  corn  field  and  a  rice  field 
cut  and  planted  for  one  crop  and  then  aban- 
doned, furnish  most  of  the  food  for  the 
family.  Some  of  the  most  ambitious  make 
crab  oil  from  the  nuts  of  the  crab  wood 
tree,  and  a  few  timbers  are  occasionally 
squared  for  the  local  saw  mill.  Thus  the 
mixed  people  of  the  river,  descendants  of 
planter,  African  and  Indian,  eke  out  their 
living. 

It  is  in  such  surroundings  that  our  Mt. 
Hermon  Mission  is  situated.  The  people 
lack  ambition  and  the  intelligence  necessary 
to  make  the  most  out  of  their  circumstances. 
They  need  constructive  leadership.  They  are 
kept  back  by  disease  and  laziness.  To  say 
that  their  morals  are  "Polynesian"  would  be 
putting  it  mildly. 

Twenty  years  ago  they  built  brick  pillars 
upon  which  to  place  their  church.  The 


MOUNT  HERMON  MISSION  75 

church  has  not  yet  been  erected.  When  we 
came  to  the  Colony  there  was  a  thatched- 
roof  chapel  with  its  thatch  full  of  tarantulas 
and  other  creeping  things,  and  there  was  no 
school. 

We  have  not  been  able  to  accomplish 
much  here,  for  who  could  do  much  for  any 
church  by  visiting  it  three  or  four  times  a 
year  for  a  day  or  two  at  a  time?  However, 
the  chapel  was  enlarged,  a  school  has  been 
organized  and  placed  on  the  Government 
list,  a  house  has  been  built  for  the  teacher, 
and  a  Sunday  school  has  been  organized. 
Our  progress  has  been  slow  but  there  at 
least  has  been  some  progress. 

It  was  here  at  St.  Lust  that  the  missionary 
and  his  wife  had  a  rather  interesting  ex- 
perience about  five  years  ago  with  taran- 
tulas. 

We  arrived  at  St.  Lust  from  St.  Paul's 
Mission  on  a  Sunday  afternoon  to  hold  an 
evening  service.  The  little  chapel  was 
packed  with  people.  We  had  a  few  oil 
lamps  and  the  parson's  lantern  was  placed 
on  the  pulpit  so  that  he  could  see  to  read  the 
Scripture  lessons.  While  he  was  preaching 


76  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

there  was  something  about  the  size  of  his 
hand  and  black  and  hairy,  that  dropped  from 
the  thatched  roof  and  struck  the  lantern.  One 
of  the  members  knocked  it  to  the  floor  and 
dispatched  it  with  his  foot.  This  was  our 
first  sight  of  a  full-sized  tarantula. 

After  the  service  we  killed  about  half  a 
dozen  of  those  large  black  fellows  that  ap- 
peared between  the  roof  leaves.  After  this 
we  got  out  our  folding  cots  with  their  mos- 
quito nets,  and  putting  them  up  in  the  open 
chapel,  retired.  Under  the  loose  floor  pigs 
and  goats  grunted  and  snored,  and  fleas  left 
pig  and  goat  for  a  cannibalistic  diet.  How- 
ever, after  some  time,  we  managed  to  get 
to  sleep. 

After  a  while  the  missionary  awoke.  Some 
strange  night  sound  of  the  jungle  must  have 
penetrated  his  ear  and  brought  him  to  con- 
sciousness. He  lay  quietly  for  a  while  and 
thought  about  those  tarantulas,  and  a  story 
that  he  had  recently  read  about  their  pois- 
onous sting  killing  human  beings,  when  look- 
ing out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye  he  saw 
something  long,  black,  and  hairy  within  a 
few  inches  of  his  face.  He  was  in  a  quan- 


MOUNT  HERMON  MISSION  77 

dary.  What  should  he  do  ?  To  move  might 
invite  a  venomous  sting.  To  lie  still  was 
but  to  postpone  an  uncomfortable  situation. 
It  was  impossible  to  jump  up  and  get  away, 
for  the  mosquito  net  enclosed  everything  in 
the  bed.  So  he  decided  to  strike  with  his 
hand  and  at  the  same  time  jump  away  from 
the  threatening  object.  You  can  imagine 
his  surprise  and  relief  when,  upon  striking, 
he  discovered  that  the  long,  black,  hairy 
thing  that  he  had  mistaken  for  the  legs  of 
the  tarantula  was  nothing  more  dangerous 
than  the  fringe  of  a  steamer  rug  that  he  was 
using  for  a  covering. 

St.  Lust  is  also  a  great  district  for  the 
practice  of  Obeah.  Before  the  law  was 
passed  that  made  it  an  offence  to  even  be 
found  with  any  of  the  paraphernalia  of 
Obeahism,  every  moonlight  night  at  St.  Lust 
we  could  hear  the  drum  of  the  obeah  man 
calling  the  people  to  the  comfy  dance.  The 
hold  that  obeahism  has  on  the  people  of  the 
colony  is  one  of  the  great  mysteries  and 
points  to  the  greatest  failure  of  the  Church 
in  this  place. 

I  have  before  said  that  all  the  black  and 


78  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

colored  people  of  the  colony  are  nominally 
Christian.  I  have  had  to  limit  their  Chris- 
tianity because  of  the  hold  that  obeahism 
still  has  upon  a  large  majority  of  them.  One 
hundred  years  ago,  a  minister  writing  from 
Demerara  to  England  said:  "A  species  of 
witchcraft,  called  Obeah,  is  very  common 
among  the  negroes.  Its  efficacy  is  attributed 
to  some  infernal  supernatural  agency.  For 
this  terrible  superstition  no  other  remedy 
has  ever  been  found  but  the  Christian  reli- 
gion." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Christianity  has 
cast  this  devil  out  of  thousands  of  people, 
but  it  is  one  of  the  failures  of  our  religion 
that  it  has  left  so  much  of  this  superstition 
in  the  minds  of  the  people. 

The  Molly  Schultz  murder  case  brought 
this  terrible  thing  most  forcibly  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Government  and  suitable  laws 
were  made  to  deal  with  it. 

"Obeah"  signifies  every  pretended  as- 
sumption of  supernatural  power  or  knowl- 
edge whatever  for  fraudulent  or  illicit  pur- 
poses, or  for  gain,  or  for  the  injury  of  any 
person. 


MOUNT  HERMON  MISSION  79 

Obeah  is  generally  practiced  for  the  pur- 
pose of  inflicting  disease,  loss,  damage,  per- 
sonal injury,  or  to  cause  or  divert  affection 
by  use  of  love  philtre  or  charms.  The  para- 
phernalia usually  consists  of  a  human  skull 
or  some  other  part  of  the  human  body, 
either  taken  before  or  after  death. 

In  the  case  of  Molly  Schultz,  it  was 
shown  that  those  diabolical  demons  took  the 
eyes  from  the  child  while  she  was  still  alive. 

The  penalty  for  the  practice  of  Obeah  is 
imprisonment  and  flogging  for  men  and  soli- 
tary confinement  for  women,  and  still  the 
terrible  thing  goes  on  to  an  alarming  degree. 
It  is  frightfully  demoralizing,  and  yet  people 
from  all  sections  of  the  population  are  under 
its  sway.  On  the  street  one  day  there  was 
pointed  out  to  me  the  "obeah  man"  of  a 
prominent  Chinese  merchant.  Many  of  the 
blacks  and  East  Indians  aie  in  constant  fear 
of  obeah.  I  have  known  aboriginal  Indians 
to  throw  away  a  dispenser's  medicine  and 
take  their  sick  for  a  long  journey  to  an 
obeah  man.  And  even  many  of  the  colored 
people  look  upon  sickness  as  the  result  of 
the  evil  eye,  and  who  consider  the  rags  and 


80  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

bones  of  the  obeah  man  more  destructive 
than  overcrowding  and  germ-laden  mosqui- 
toes. Recently  I  was  told  about  some  col- 
ored people  who  secretly  carried  a  terrible 
concoction  prepared  by  an  obeah  man  to  one 
of  their  friends  in  the  hospital.  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  the  doctor  is  often  mystified  in 
the  progress  of  his  patients? 

Obeah  is  the  cause  of  much  of  the  irre- 
ligion  and  immorality  of  the  people,  and  so 
far  has  not  given  way  to  the  teaching  of  the 
schools  and  churches. 

I  should  be  very  sorry  were  what  I  have 
said  about  "obeah"  and  its  influence  upon 
people  of  all  sections  of  the  inhabitants  to 
lead  you  to  the  conclusion  that  the  people 
have  made  no  progress  in  Christian  living. 
To  judge  the  people  by  the  followers  of 
obeah  would  be  like  judging  America  by  the 
"spiritualists"  who  have  many  points  of 
likeness  to  this  relic  of  African  savage  super- 
stition. 

The  black  and  colored  people  form  the 
great  bulk  of  the  members  of  the  Christian 
Churches.  The  fate  of  Christianity  in  this 
colony  is  in  their  hands,  and  I  believe  that 


ITUNI    INDIAN    SCHOOL 


SCHOOL   CHILDREN 


ITUNI  DUG-OUT  CANOES 


A   RIVER   STEAMBOAT 


TENT  BOAT 


MOUNT  HERMON  MISSION  81 

it  is  in  safe  keeping.  The  black  and  colored 
people  are  practically  the  Christians  of  the 
colony.  One  of  the  most  pleasing  features 
of  the  Negro  temperament  is  his  tendency 
towards  religion.  There  are  no  atheists 
among  the  Negroes.  They  are  largely  domi- 
nated by  the  Church.  They  are  far  more 
faithful  in  their  duties  as  Church  members 
than  the  average  European  in  this  colony. 

In  our  Church  we  have  found  that  they 
have  as  thorough  an  acquaintance  with  the 
doctrines  of  the  Church,  coupled  with  the 
practical  application  of  the  same,  as  can  be 
found  any  place.  Some  people,  unacquainted 
with  people  of  other  races  than  their  own, 
assume  that  the  religion  of  the  black  and 
colored  is  of  a  superficial  character.  This 
is  not  so.  They  are  as  sincere  lovers  of 
Christ,  as  devoted  to  the  Church,  and  as 
practical  in  their  Christian  living  as  people 
of  any  other  race.  Of  course,  like  all  races, 
they  cannot  all  be  included  in  the  above  des- 
cription. Many  of  them  are  nominal  Chris- 
tians, just  like  many  of  our  people  at  home. 
Many  have  been  baptized  and  confirmed, 
and  with  this  the  matter  has  simply  ended, 


82  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

just  as  with  many  of  our  people  at  home. 

The  black  and  colored  people  have  taken 
very  kindly  to  education.  Their  progress  in 
this  has  been  remarkable.  They  are  keen  to 
educate  themselves  and  their  children  and 
make  large  sacrifices  towards  this  end. 

And  I  believe  that  they  are  industrious 
when  well.  Much  that  is  taken  for  idleness, 
laziness,  and  thriftlessness  is  the  result  of 
sickness.  Give  them  heathful  surroundings, 
and  sufficient  food  and  they  can  accomplish 
a  great  amount  of  hard  work,  and  they 
generally  are  very  cheerful  about  doing  it. 

Negroes  are  filling  positions  of  responsi- 
bility and  honor  in  this  colony  and  are  doing 
so  with  distinction.  As  a  race  they  have 
made  wonderful  advances  since  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  1836.  Their  future  and  the 
future  of  the  colony  and  of  the  Christian 
Churches  here  are  but  different  sides  of  the 
same  question.  I,  for  one,  am  very  optimis- 
tic about  all  three. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  WORK  AMONG  THE  ARRAWAK 
INDIANS. 

We  come  now  to  the  presentation  of  our 
work  among  the  Arrawak  Indians.  This 
ought  to  be  of  great  interest  to  our  people, 
as  this  is  the  only  mission  of  The  United 
Lutheran  Church  among  the  original  inhabi- 
tants of  the  American  Continent. 

The  Mission  is  located  on  an  island 
formed  by  the  Berbice  River,  the  Ituni  Creek 
and  the  Itabo  (supplementary  mouth)  of 
the  Ituni.  It  is  situated  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles  from  our  head  station  in 
New  Amsterdam.  There  is  a  semi-weekly 
river  steamer  that  runs  from  New  Amster- 
dam to  within  three  miles  of  this  Mission. 

The  church  here  is  called  Mount  Carmel 
and  the  Mission  is  known  as  the  Ituni  Luth- 
eran Indian  Mission. 

To  visit  this  Mission  we  must  be  up  and 
off  at  seven  A.M.,  and  it  is  usually  after 
midnight  when  we  arrive  at  Paradise,  the 

83 


84  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

steamer  terminus.  From  here  we  go  in  a 
batteau  for  the  rest  of  the  journey,  and  by 
two  A.M.,  or  after  a  hot  journey  of  nine- 
teen hours,  we  arrive  at  our  destination. 

Up  until  August,  1921,  we  had  only 
a  small  thatched-roof  building  about 
12  x  20,  to  accommodate  the  preacher, 
teacher,  catechist,  and  whoever  else  might 
be  at  the  Mission.  Here  we  have  also  a 
small  thatched-roof  building  that  does  ser- 
vice as  a  chapel  and  school.  But  through 
the  kindness  of  the  home  Church,  and  with 
the  assistance  of  our  Indians,  we  now  have 
a  pleasant  cottage  with  two  rooms  and  a 
gallery  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
minister. 

The  building  of  this  cottage  was  quite  an 
undertaking.  Our  Board  gave  us  a  generous 
grant  towards  this  object,  but,  as  I  believe 
in  teaching  people  self-reliance,  I  would  use 
the  money  only  for  those  things  that  the 
Indians  could  not  supply.  So  the  Indians 
went  into  the  forest  and  cut  a  supply  of  crab- 
wood  logs.  It  was  necessary  for  them  to 
make  roads  through  the  forest  from  the 
stumps  to  the  river.  Then  they  dragged  the 


WORK  AMONG  THE  ARRAWAK  INDIANS   85 

logs  with  their  own  strength  over  this  road. 
Then  the  logs  were  tied  into  a  raft  with 
bush-rope  and  the  raft  was  floated  for  more 
than  a  hundred  miles  to  the  saw  mill  in 
town.  There  the  raft  was  sawn  up  into 
one  and  a  quarter  inch  boards  for  flooring; 
groove  and  tongue  and  spring  boards  for 
siding;  and  inch  boards  for  roofing.  These 
boards  were  then  loaded  into  a  punt  and 
floated  back  up  the  river  to  the  Mission. 
The  river  is  very  accommodating,  in  that 
the  tides  run  for  nearly  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  from  its  mouth,  so  that  not  much 
more  time  was  taken  to  float  the  punt  up 
than  to  float  the  raft  down. 

The  windows  and  blinds  were  made  at  the 
mill  in  town  from  New  York  boards  and 
shipped  to  the  Mission.  Next  we  gathered 
bricks  from  an  old  abandoned  plantation 
for  the  foundation  and  blocks,  sills,  beams, 
and  uprights  were  squared  out  in  the  forest 
and  dragged  or  floated  to  the  Mission. 

The  plan  for  the  house  was  drawn  by  the 
Missionary.  Some  carpenters  were  em- 
ployed and  the  house  raised.  It  was  a  long 
job  but  will  no  doubt  well  repay  the  effort 


86  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

in  comfort  and  convenience  for  the  mission- 
aries during  the  coming  years. 

The  work  and  material  thus  donated  by 
the  little  handful  of  men  connected  with  the 
Mission,  amounted  to  about  one-half  of  the 
value  of  the  completed  house.  I  am  sure 
that  you  will  conclude  that  that  was  not  so 
bad  for  your  aboriginal  Indian  Lutheran 
brethren  of  the  South  American  forests. 

I  shall  never  forget  my  first  visit  to  the 
Ituni  Mission.  There  were  only  a  few  In- 
dians present  with  their  children.  The  Cate- 
chist  had  brought  up  a  few  of  the  members 
of  St.  Paul's  Mission  to  sing  a  few  hymns. 
The  Indians  were  unable  to  join  in  any  por- 
tion of  the  service  and  sat  stolid  while  I 
tried  to  bring  a  message  to  them  from  God's 
Word.  The  children  were  strange  and  shy, 
and  the  whole  proceedings  left  me  terribly 
depressed.  What  was  there  to  do?  The 
Indians  could  not  understand  me  and  I  could 
not  understand  them,  although  we  were  all 
speaking  English.  I  was  sure  that  I  would 
not  be  able  to  learn  the  Arrawak  language 
along  with  the  care  of  the  four  churches, 
and  I  was  especially  concerned  about  the 


WORK  AMONG  THE  ARRAWAK  INDIANS   87 

bright-eyed,  red-skinned  children.  The  prob- 
lem that  this  Mission  presented  was  no  small 
one.  After  prayerful  consideration  we  de- 
cided to  organize  a  school  for  the  training 
of  the  children  that  they  might  learn  correct 
English  and  the  principles  of  our  holy 
religion. 

I  wish  that  you  would  try  to  picture  those 
little,  shy  boys  and  girls  of  the  tropical 
forest.  They  were  bright-eyed,  lively  little 
children,  very  lovable  and  loving,  and  dear 
to  the  heart  of  the  Master.  But  they  knew 
nothing  about  the  dear  Saviour  who  took 
little  children  up  in  His  arms  and  blessed 
them.  They  knew  none  of  the  sweet  songs 
that  our  own  little  ones  learn  in  Sunday 
school  and  church.  They  could  not  read, 
write,  sing,  pray,  or  join  in  children's  games. 
Prejudice  would  tell  us  that  their  condition 
was  their  own  concern;  but  Christian  love 
revealed  wonderful  possibilities  and  urged 
us  to  endeavor  in  Christ's  name  to  bring  the 
Gospel  unto  even  these  little  ones. 

Finally  the  day  came  for  the  opening  of 
the  school.  As  the  hour  drew  near,  an  In- 
dian boy  stood  on  the  river  bank  and  blew 


88  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

a  hunting  horn.  As  the  sound  went  up  and 
down  the  river  and  creeks  and  echoed 
through  the  forest,  the  little  girls  eagerly 
finished  the  plaiting  of  their  hair;  the  boys 
smoothed  theirs  with  oil  and  hurriedly  got 
in  their  dugout  canoes  to  hasten  to  the  Mis- 
sion. Gayly  they  came,  knocking  their 
paddles  on  the  sides  of  their  canoes  and 
chattering  to  one  another  in  their  Indian 
dialect. 

We  opened  our  school  with  about  thirty 
children,  and  as  the  news  spread  to  the  "top 
side  of  the  bush"  others  came,  until  fifty 
children  were  enrolled.  Fifty  boys  and  girls, 
who  before  had  known  only  the  wild,  prim- 
itive life  of  the  tropical  forest,  now  began 
to  lay  the  foundation  of  their  education. 
They  were  taught  to  read  and  write  and 
reckon.  They  were  taught  to  pray  and  sing 
and  play.  Their  minds  were  filled  full  of 
Bible  stories,  the  greatest  of  the  Psalms, 
the  Beatitudes,  and  other  choice  passages  of 
Scripture  were  engraved  upon  their  hearts. 

Now,  if  you  will  visit  the  Mission,  you 
will  be  delighted  with  the  service.  Our  full 
Common  Service  is  used.  Every  response 


WORK  AMONG  THE  ARRAWAK  INDIANS   89 

is  sung  by  the  children.  Our  creeds  are  con- 
fessed and  the  quiet  tropical  forest  is  made 
to  ring  with  the  triumphant  songs  of  our 
beloved  Zion. 

After  our  school  had  been  running  about 
a  year,  I  went  to  examine  those  who  were 
reported  ready  for  promotion  to  the  second 
standard.  In  examining  the  children  in  read- 
ing we  discovered  that  they  had  committed 
their  entire  first  reader  and  could  recite  as 
well  without  the  book  as  with  it.  While 
this  was  not  according  to  the  best  rules  of 
pedagogics,  yet  it  revealed  that  these  little 
children  had  wonderful  memories,  so  what 
better  could  we  do  than  to  fill  those  ready 
minds  with  the  Word  of  God,  the  confes- 
sions of  the  Church,  and  the  beautiful  hymns 
of  the  people  of  God.  Many  of  the  child- 
ren can  give  a  large  number  of  the  hymns 
from  the  first  word  to  the  last  without  any 
reference  to  the  book. 

In  this  way  we  have  made  little  mission- 
aries of  many  of  them.  Sometimes  their 
parents  come  down  to  the  Mission  and  call 
their  children  to  go  with  them  into  the  bush 
upon  some  kind  of  an  expedition.  The  child 


90  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

takes  its  hammock,  its  cooking  pot,  its  cas- 
sava bread  and  bunch  of  plantains,  and  get- 
ting into  the  canoe  is  off  for  hunting  and 
fishing,  on  a  balata  bleeding  trip,  or  to  one 
of  the  timber  grants,  and  wherever  it  goes 
it  carries  the  Word  of  God,  the  confessions 
of  the  Church,  and  the  Hymns  of  Zion.  For 
these  children  are  taught  to  pray  daily  and 
sing  and  confess  their  Saviour;  and  often 
their  words  are  heard  in  the  innermost  re- 
cesses of  the  forest  and  among  people  who 
have  never  before  heard  the  Gospel  message. 
As  they  explain  their  words  in  the  dialect  of 
the  tribes,  Christ  is  made  known.  As  a  black 
man  once  said  after  he  had  unexpectedly 
heard  one  of  our  children  singing  far  from 
the  Mission,  and  after  he  had  been  for  many 
months  far  away  from  civilization,  "It  was 
too  (very)  sweet  to  hear  the  songs  of  the 
Church  in  the  top  (distant)  side  of  the 
bush." 

It  is  a  sweet  thought  to  know  that  little 
children  who  knew  not  their  blessed  Saviour 
and  perchance  might  never  have  known  Him, 
are  now  this  day  singing  hymns  of  praise 
to  His  blessed  name  in  that  tropical  forest, 


WORK  AMONG  THE  ARRAWAK  INDIANS   91 

because  our  Church  has  carried  the  Gospel 
message  to  them. 

A  permanent  church  building  is  to  be 
erected  at  this  Mission.  The  old  thatched- 
roof  chapel  will  be  used  then  for  school 
purposes  only,  and  this  much  needed  place 
of  worship  will  give  a  certain  required 
stability  to  our  work. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  NATIVE  INDIANS. 

The  aboriginal  Indians  of  British  Guiana 
are  civilized  if  by  civilized  you  mean  polite. 
It  would  be  hard  indeed  to  find  any  of  these 
forest  people  who  are  unpleasant  or  savage. 
If  you  mean  polished  according  to  the  white 
man's  ideas,  and  encumbered  with  a  super- 
fluity of  clothes,  then  you  would  not  always 
consider  them  civilized.  Indeed,  the  full 
dress  of  some  of  our  interior  Indians  is 
made  up  of  a  small  bead  apron  and  various 
strings  of  beads.  However,  the  Indian 
woman  is  generally  quite  as  modest  in  her 
demeanor  as  her  more  highly  polished  and 
much  more  dressed  white  sister.  Indian 
women  do  not  wear  European  clothes  grace- 
fully. Should  there  be  designed  for  them 
such  clothes  as  the  Girl  Scouts  wear,  they 
would  be  beautifully  appropriate.  It  would 
not  overmuch  please  the  class  of  merchants 
who  make  a  business  of  selling  to  the  poor 
aboriginal  women  high-heeled  slippers  and 

92 


THE  NATIVE  INDIANS  93 

ill-fitting  garments  when  they  come  to  town. 

It  is  often  pathetic  to  see  how  the  abor- 
iginal Indian  under  the  guidance  of  a  cer- 
tain class  of  tradesmen  rig  themselves  out 
for  their  festive  occasions.  I  have  seen  poor, 
unhappy  brides,  who  had  always  known  the 
perfect  freedom  of  a  primitive  life,  brought 
to  the  altar  by  their  admiring  friends  in  the 
breathless  embrace  of  their  first  corsets  and 
with  their  feet  crowded  into  a  pair  of  satin 
slippers  several  sizes  too  small  for  them. 
How  they  would  perspire  under  their  bridal 
veils,  and  sometimes  they  would  sensibly  slip 
off  their  shoes  while  the  service  was  being 
read. 

Unfortunately  our  teachers  and  catechists 
encourage  them  in  these  things  and  the  stage 
is  all  set  and  the  paraphernalia  purchased 
before  the  parson's  advice  is  sought.  Now 
that  we  finally  have  a  small  Mission  House 
at  Ituni  we  trust  that  the  Missionary's  wife 
will  be  able  to  institute  certain  dress  reforms 
on  behalf  of  the  Indian  women. 

The  Indians  live  as  they  have  lived  for 
centuries,  except  where  they  have  been 
touched  by  European  civilization,  and  even 


94  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

this  civilization  has  not  materially  changed 
their  existence.  Where  our  so-called  civili- 
zation goes,  there  are  always  two  influences 
at  work — the  one  of  the  trader  and  the 
other  of  the  Church.  One  pulls  in  one  direc- 
tion and  the  other  exerts  its  influence  in  the 
opposite  direction. 

It  is  contended  that  civilization  always 
affects  the  aboriginal  in  a  deleterious  man- 
ner. And  this  is  always  true  if  civilization 
is  represented  by  the  rum  shop  and  the 
trader.  I  have  heard  the  rum  shop  keeper 
and  the  trader  contend  that  it  is  the  missions 
that  thus  hurt  the  Indian.  I  have  known  a 
man  high  in  the  councils  of  the  State,  a  man 
knighted  by  the  King,  to  contend  that  mis- 
sions exploit  the  Indians,  and  who  was  op- 
posed to  any  kind  of  missionary  activity  in 
their  behalf.  Such  men  are  only  concerned 
in  shifting  responsibility  for  the  evil  influ- 
ence of  our  so-called  civilization. 

Missions  are  always  planted  in  order  to 
bring  the  best  of  our  achievements  to  the 
life  of  a  people.  Missions  and  missionaries 
are  the  best  friends  of  primitive  peoples.  By 
their  influence  the  complete  annihilation  of 


THE  NATIVE  INDIANS  95 

these  peoples  is  prevented.  As  a  missionary 
we  are  concerned  about  the  Indian,  and 
anxious  that  he  may  be  helped  to  make  the 
most  out  of  his  condition.  We  preach  the 
gospel  to  him;  we  supervise  the  education 
of  children;  we  try  to  teach  him  hygiene 
and  sanitation,  and  minister  to  his  physical 
as  well  as  mental  and  spiritual  welfare.  And 
then,  when  the  rum  shop  undermines  his 
constitution  and  he  dies,  we  are  accounted 
his  slayer.  If  he  learns  tricks  from  the 
trader  and  applies  his  education  secured  in 
mission  schools  to  obtain  his  just  dues,  the 
trader  claims  that  the  missionaries  have 
taught  him  tricks  and  spoiled  his  primitive 
simplicity  which  was  always  so  pleasing, 
picturesque,  and  profitable  to  the  trader. 

The  missionaries  desire  that  the  aborig- 
inal Indian  may  live  a  beautiful,  simple  life. 
We  wish  him  to  have  the  simple  precepts 
of  Christianity  in  place  of  a  demoralizing 
and  degrading  superstition  such  as  he 
would  have  without  Christ.  We  wish  him 
to  be  honest  in  his  dealings  with  his  fellow- 
men,  but  we  also  desire  that  he  be  able  to 
protect  himself  in  business  and  secure  a  fair 


96  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

deal.  We  wish  him  to  live  a  long  and 
healthy  life  by  observing  God-given  laws  of 
body  and  mind;  we  do  not  desire  to  see  him 
wrecked  and  ruined  by  a  rummy  civilization. 

We  not  only  do  not  exploit  him,  but  at  a 
great  personal  sacrifice  put  ourselves  in  the 
position  of  servant  and  teach  him  and  min- 
ister unto  him,  and  become  indeed  his 
brother,  endeavoring  to  help  him  in  this  life 
and  prepare  him  for  a  blessed  immortality. 

In  certain  fundamentals  the  Indian  is  liv- 
ing today  as  he  lived  for  centuries.  When 
Columbus  was  cruising  on  his  first  voyage 
among  the  Bahama  Islands,  he  found  the 
people  living  a  very  primitive  life,  and  most 
of  those  primitive  conditions  still  prevail  in 
this  land. 

The  houses  were  thatched  with  palm 
leaves  and  open  on  all  four  sides,  with  a 
sort  of  a  loft  which  gave  little  privacy  to 
home  life.  It  is  just  in  such  houses  that  our 
Indians  now  live,  and  a  thatched-roof  house 
is  without  doubt  the  best  sort  of  a  house  for 
him  to  live  in.  I  understand  that  the  gov- 
ernment, recognizing  this,  requires  the  In- 
dian to  live  in  such  a  house  in  order  to  be 


ST.  PAUL'S  CONFIRMATION  CLASS 


EAST  INDIAN  CATECHIST  FAMILY 


A    ST,    LUST   WEDDING 


INDIANS  GOING  TO  CHURCH 


ITUNI  MISSION  RIVER  SCENE 


ITUNI  MISSION  HOUSE 


THE  NATIVE  INDIANS  97 

eligible  for  certain  special  privileges  granted 
to  aboriginals.  I  think  that  there  should  be 
certain  improvements  in  these  houses.  They 
should  be  larger  than  they  usually  are  and 
separate  sections  should  be  constructed  for 
the  different  sexes  after  they  come  to  a  cer- 
tain age.  In  Washington  Irving' s  "Voyages 
of  Columbus"  we  read,  "For  beds  they  had 
nets  of  cotton  extended  from  two  posts, 
which  they  called  Hamacs."  And  to  this 
present  time  the  aboriginal  Indians  of  this 
land  woo  Morpheus  in  their  hammocks  of 
cotton.  And  so  great  is  the  convenience  and 
comfort  found  in  these  hammocks  that  many 
Europeans  prefer  to  swing  in  them  even 
when  a  large  comfortable  bed  is  available. 

The  invention  of  the  hammock  was  a 
great  achievement  for  the  aboriginal  Indian, 
and  it  would  indeed  be  interesting  to  know 
the  different  stages  through  which  the  in- 
dustry passed  until  it  reached  its  present 
perfection. 

The  aboriginal  Indian  is  also  primitive  in 
his  mode  of  travel.  He  still  uses  a  dugout 
or  a  bark  canoe  and  displays  considerable 
ingenuity  in  the  modeling  of  both  the  boat 


98  SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

and  the  paddles.  Three  models  of  paddles 
have  come  under  our  observation  and  it  is 
possible  to  know  the  part  of  the  Colony 
from  which  our  Indian  hails  by  observing 
the  cut  of  his  paddle.  The  paddle  of  the 
Berbice  and  Demerara  and  Essequito  dis- 
tricts are  each  of  a  distinct  pattern. 

Not  only  does  the  Indian  still  live  in  his 
palm-roofed  pavilion,  sleep  in  his  cotton 
hammock,  and  ride  in  his  dugout  canoe,  satis- 
fied with  the  simple  adornments  that  nature 
has  given  to  the  human  body,  but  he  still  eats 
the  same  food,  prepared  in  the  same  man- 
ner. Corn  and  cassava  are  his  main  articles 
of  diet  along  with  tropical  fruits.  Of  these 
articles  of  diet  cassava  bread  is  the  most 
interesting  and  complicated  in  its  process  of 
preparation. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  cassava,  bitter 
and  sweet.  Both  of  these  are  tubers  resemb- 
ling our  sweet  potato  in  shape  but  some- 
times attaining  great  size.  The  sweet  cas- 
sava can  be  utilized  in  its  natural  condition 
and  upon  cooking  or  baking  is  ready  for 
consumption.  On  the  other  hand  should  you 
thus  prepare  bitter  cassava,  it  would  be 


THE  NATIVE  INDIANS  99 

found  a  rank  poison,  for  the  bitter  cassava 
contains  a  fluid  that  eaten  in  conjunction 
with  the  fibre  is  poisonous,  but  both  fluid 
and  fibre  are  edible  when  separated.  After, 
no  doubt,  thousands  had  lost  their  lives  by 
experimentation,  the  Indian  discovered,  ages 
ago,  a  process  whereby  the  cassarep  could  be 
extracted  from  the  cassava.  This  is  the 
process  of  preparation. 

The  bitter  cassava  is  brought  from  the 
fields  in  baskets  carried  on  the  backs  of  the 
Indians,  and  supported  with  a  thong  passed 
over  the  forehead.  The  tubers  are  then 
pared  and  grated.  The  grated  casava  is  then 
placed  in  a  matapee  and  the  juice  is  ex- 
tracted. This  juice  is  then  used  as  cassarep 
and  is  utilized  in  the  preparation  of  pepper- 
pot.  The  pulp  is  then  spread  out  in  thin 
layers  on  the  stove  and  baked.  This  is  the 
cassava  bread  and  the  staff  of  life  for  the 
aboriginal  Indian. 

The  Indian  also  makes  various  kinds  of 
drinks.  Cassiri  is  made  from  the  sweet 
potato  and  piauarri  is  made  from  cassava 
bread.  The  first  is  non-intoxicating  but  the 
second  is  filthy  in  its  manufacture  and  disas- 


100         SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

trous  in  its  effect  upon  the  consumer.  When 
the  Indian  is  preparing  for  a  piauarri  spree 
the  women  are  called  together.  Large  quan- 
tities of  cassava  bread  are  made;  a  canoe 
is  pulled  ashore ;  the  women  surround  it  and 
chew  vast  quantities  of  cassava  bread  which 
they  spit  into  the  canoe.  When  this  con- 
coction ferments  it  is  used  as  an  intoxicating 
beverage  and  the  piauarri  spree  is  on.  It 
takes  the  form  of  a  degraded  debauch  with 
disastrous  effects  upon  the  morals  and  phy- 
sical constitution  of  the  Indians. 

The  Indians  should  be  encouraged  to  con- 
tinue the  industries  that  they  have  developed 
through  the  ages.  Weaving  hammocks  and 
baskets,  planting  their  fields,  hunting  and 
fishing,  have  been  to  a  great  measure  sup- 
planted by  balata  bleeding  and  timber  squar- 
ing in  the  employ  of  traders  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  Indian  and  the  profit  of  the 
trader.  The  Indian  now  often  has  to  buy 
his  matapee  and  hammock  and  canoe,  and 
has  lost  his  skill  with  bow  and  arrow.  In  all 
this  he  is  the  loser,  because  he  has  become 
dependent  upon  others  than  himself  for  his 
simple  needs  that  he  should  himself  be  able 


THE  NATIVE  INDIANS  101 

to    supply    with    his    own    unaided    efforts. 

Rum  is  the  weakness  and  the  curse  of  the 
aboriginal  Indian.  The  government  has 
laws  for  his  protection  but  they  are  impos- 
sible of  execution,  and  the  trader  plays  on 
the  weakness  of  the  Indian  for  his  own 
profit.  There  is  no  work  too  hard  for  the 
Indian  if  his  reward  is  to  be  rum.  When 
all  other  inducements  fail,  this  is  sure. 

The  rum  dealer  will  tell  you  that  piauarri 
is  responsible  for  more  injury  to  the  Indian 
than  rum,  but  I  cannot  believe  this.  For  a 
piauarri  spree  requires  hard  preparation 
and  the  consumption  of  large  quantities  of 
the  Indian's  available  food  supply,  while 
rum  is  often  procurable  upon  credit  and  is 
far  more  potent  in  its  effect.  The  preserva- 
tion of  these  primitive  people  is  a  serious 
problem  and  must  be  worked  out  by  the 
Christian  Missions.  We  must  aim  to  con- 
serve all  that  is  good  of  the  Indian's  past  and 
to  add  to  that  all  of  the  good  of  our  own 
civilization  that  is  adaptable  to  his  require- 
ments, and  warn  him  from  the  evil  that  is 
always  attendant  upon  the  invasion  of  other 
races  into  his  natural  domain. 


CHAPTER  X. 

SNAKES — INSECTS,  ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS. 

People  generally  think  of  South  America 
as  the  land  of  snakes.  Our  old  geographies 
always  twined  numerous  serpents  around 
the  caption  for  South  America.  It  is  true 
that  snakes  are  very  numerous  in  Hammock 
Land.  To  St.  Patrick  is  given  the  credit  for 
driving  the  snakes  out  of  Ireland.  However, 
we  are  told  that  there  are  no  snakes  in  Scot- 
land and  only  one  harmless  variety  in  Eng- 
land. The  old  enmity  between  the  serpent 
and  man  gives  the  victory  to  man  where  his 
kind  is  numerous.  But  in  Hammock  Land 
there  are  less  than  three  men  to  the  square 
mile  and  this  is  not  enough  to  rid  the  land 
of  snakes.  However,  one  could  spend  months 
in  Hammock  Land  on  the  coast  lands  and 
see  no  snakes  outside  of  the  excellent  museum 
in  Georgetown.  But  there  are  many  snakes 
in  the  land.  Bright,  green  and  yellow  par- 
rot snakes,  poisonous  rattlers,  labarri  and 
bush  masters,  huge  water  commodies  and 

102 


SNAKES— INSECTS,  ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS  103 

yellow  tails  help  to  make  up  the  list.  Many 
of  the  natives  will  not  call  them  snakes  be- 
cause of  superstition,  but  call  them  long- 
man,  yellow-man,  or  green-man.  Some  East 
Indians  refuse  to  kill  a  snake  believing  that 
at  night  the  spirit  of  the  snake  will  haunt 
them. 

It  is  said  that  the  water  commodies  of 
this  Colony  sometimes  attain  a  length  of 
thirty-five  feet,  but  I  am  afraid  they  look 
longer  than  they  really  are  when  seen  in  the 
bush,  and  even  when  the  skin  is  shown  in 
proof  it  cannot  be  taken  too  literally  as  the 
skin  is  often  stretched  in  removing  it  from 
the  body.  However,  they  do  attain  great 
size  and  wonderful  stories  are  told  about 
them.  Men  who  often  visit  the  interior  tell 
about  snakes  large  enough  to  swallow  deer 
and  large  calves.  They  say  that  the  snakes 
contract  around  their  prey  and  break  up 
their  bones  into  a  pulp  and  then  find  little 
difficulty  in  swallowing  very  large  animals. 

Recently  I  saw  in  the  newspaper  an  ac- 
count of  an  attack  of  a  water  commodie  on 
a  man  who  was  about  to  bathe  in  an  interior 
creek.  The  man  was  standing  at  the  water 


104         SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

side  cooling  off  before  his  swim  when  a 
huge  commodie  rapidly  coiled  around  him 
and  began  to  contract.  His  cries  brought 
his  partner  with  his  large  bush  knife  in  time 
to  hack  the  snake  in  two  and  save  the  man's 
life. 

Recently  I  saw  also  another  account  of 
two  snakes  of  this  kind  in  the  London  Zoo. 
One  was  eleven  feet  long  and  the  other  nine. 
Two  fowls  were  thrown  to  these  commodies 
for  food.  The  larger  one  seized  the  smaller 
fowl  and  swallowed  it  at  once.  Then  notic- 
ing the  larger  fowl  still  in  the  mouth  of 
the  smaller  snake,  it  seized  both  the  fowl 
and  the  smaller  snake  and  swallowed  both 
of  them.  It  was  explained  that  the  fangs 
of  this  snake  are  so  constructed  that  when 
it  closes  on  anything  there  is  no  way  to  get 
it  out  of  its  mouth  but  by  swallowing  it,  and 
that  it  was  possible  for  it  to  swallow  the 
smaller  snake  but  the  process  took  several 
days. 

When  we  cleared  the  ground  for  our  Mis- 
sion House  at  Ituni,  two  large  labarries 
were  killed.  Many  of  these  snakes  have  been 
killed  around  this  Mission  and  we  are  very 


SNAKES— INSECTS,  ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS  105 

thankful  that  we  have  escaped  these  veno- 
mous vipers  upon  our  visits  to  this  place. 
One  day  our  two  little  boys  were  picking  up 
awaras  under  an  awara  tree  at  this  Mission 
and  a  few  minutes  after  they  left  the  spot 
a  large  labarri  was  killed  there. 

After  we  had  killed  the  two  serpents  in 
clearing  for  our  Mission  House  I  went  over 
and  sat  on  a  bench  under  a  cokerrit  tree, 
when  glancing  sideways  I  noticed  a  long, 
green  snake  coiled  around  the  tree  with  its 
head  a  few  inches  from  my  face.  We  hastily 
dispatched  this  fellow  and  saw  no  more 
snakes  on  that  trip. 

While  a  snake  bite  might  result  disas- 
trously there  is  every  probability  that  one 
would  live  very  long  in  Hammock  Land 
without  experiencing  such  a  misfortune;  but 
there  are  pests  that  you  cannot  so  readily 
escape.  Mosquitoes,  sandflies,  jiggers,  tick, 
bete  rouge,  ants,  wasps,  and  sundry  other  in- 
sects help  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  life 
before  one  has  traveled  far  or  tarried  long 
in  Hammock  Land.  I  have  been  rather  un- 
fortunate with  wasps,  but  the  most  pain- 
ful bite  that  I  ever  received  in  all  my 


106          SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

travels     was     from     a     large     black     ant. 

One  day  as  I  was  just  in  the  act  of  sitting 
down  in  a  canoe,  a  large  black  ant  nipped 
me  at  the  base  of  my  thumb.  The  thumb 
and  forefinger  swelled  very  large,  back  as 
far  as  the  wrist,  and  throbbed  with  pain  for 
several  hours.  Although  this  happened  five 
years  ago  the  mark  of  this  bite  still  remains. 

Ants  seem  to  be  everywhere  present  in  the 
tropics.  There  are  wood  ants  that  will  de- 
vour houses  if  they  are  not  constantly 
watched.  They  will  eat  out  the  timbers  of 
a  house  and  the  boards,  leaving  only  a  shell. 
They  can  do  a  great  damage  in  a  very  short 
time,  working  silently,  incessantly,  and  in 
great  numbers. 

Among  the  most  interesting  ants  that  we 
have  noticed  in  Hammock  Land  are  the 
"cooshie"  ants,  known  also  as  the  leaf-cut- 
ting or  parasol  ants.  These  ants  are  the 
most  dangerous  enemies  to  vegetation  in  the 
Colony.  They  cut  off  pieces  of  leaves  of 
various  trees  which  they  carry  back  to  their 
nests,  held  upright  in  their  jaws.  They 
march  along  regular  tracks  which  they  clear 
from  the  nests  to  the  tree  they  attack.  These 


SNAKES— INSECTS,  ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS  107 

tracks  are  sometimes  twelve  inches  wide  and 
are  swept  clear  of  every  bit  of  vegetation. 
They  march  along  these  tracks  in  two 
streams  going  in  opposite  directions,  the  one 
going  to  the  nests,  each  bearing  a  piece  of 
leaf,  and  the  other  returning  from  the  nest 
for  more.  Not  only  leaves,  but  also  pieces 
of  flowers,  fruits  and  seeds  are  taken  back 
to  their  nests.  They  have  been  observed  to 
go  as  far  as  half  a  mile  from  their  nests 
for  leaves. 

There  was  a  large  troublesome  nest  of 
these  ants  just  behind  our  school  at  Ituni. 
The  nest  was  about  twenty  feet  in  diameter. 
The  ants  not  only  stripped  the  trees  at 
the  Mission  but  stripped  the  stalks  of 
everything  planted  in  the  school  garden  with 
the  exception  of  the  bananas.  Finally  we 
decided  to  destroy  this  nest.  So  one  day  we 
secured  some  shovels  and  with  the  help  of 
the  children  we  puddled  the  nest.  The  nest 
was  situated  near  the  creek  and  was  made 
up  of  a  series  of  tunnels  and  dome-shaped 
chambers  with  probably  fifty  openings  to  the 
surface.  These  tunnels  were  so  constructed 
that  they  all  led  into  one  that  served  as  a 


108         SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

drain  and  came  out  on  the  bank  of  the  creek. 

First  we  stopped  up  the  drain;  then  we 
made  a  ditch  around  the  nest  and  filled  it 
with  water.  Next  we  filled  a  tub  with  water 
and  placed  it  about  the  center  of  the  nest. 
One  man  stood  in  this  tub  and  shoveled  the 
earth  while  the  children  carried  water  and 
threw  it  on  the  nest,  thus  making  a  mud, 
stopping  up  the  holes  and  killing  the  ants 
in  the  puddle.  It  was  a  half  day's  job  for 
three  men  and  about  twenty  children,  but 
there  were  few  ants  escaped. 

Another  time  we  tried  shooting  a  nest 
with  an  explosive  acid  but  the  results  were 
not  satisfactory. 

These  ants  carry  the  leaves  to  their  nests 
but  they  do  not  eat  them.  Inside  the  nests 
the  leaves  are  cut  up  very  fine  and  kneaded 
with  the  feet  and  jaws,  forming  a  yellowish 
brown  spongy  substance.  On  this  substance 
a  fungus  grows.  This  fungus  constitutes 
their  food.  One  particular  fungus  is  care- 
fully looked  after  and  cultivated  and  all 
other  kinds  are  prevented  from  growing.  So 
carefully  and  skillfully  is  this  carried  out 
that  the  ants  have  been  able  to  produce  a 


SNAKES— INSECTS,  ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS  109 

new  growth  in  the  fungus,  as  different  as 
many  of  our  cultivated  fruits  and  vegetables 
are  from  their  original  wild  forms. 

It  has  been  discovered  that  each  of  the 
female  ants,  which  may  be  seen  issuing  from 
the  nest  at  certain  times  of  the  year,  carries 
in  a  cavity  at  the  back  of  her  mouth  a  pellet 
consisting  of  filaments  of  this  fungus,  with 
which  she  is  able  to  establish  a  fresh  fungus 
garden  when  she  starts  making  a  new  nest. 

Mosquitoes  are  the  most  dangerous  pest 
found  in  Hammock  Land.  Their  stings  are 
very  distressing  and  their  germ-carrying 
propensities  make  them  the  greatest  enemy 
of  the  human  race  in  the  Colony.  Abolish 
the  mosquito  and  the  malaria  and  Ham- 
mock Land  would  indeed  be  a  wonderful 
place. 

Our  first  night  in  the  Colony  brought  the 
mosquito  to  our  attention  as  we  crawled 
under  the  net  over  our  beds,  and  I  have  not 
been  able  in  six  years  to  get  a  night's  rest 
out  from  under  a  mosquito  net,  whether  in 
Georgetown,  New  Amsterdam  or  up  the 
Berbice  River. 

Upon  our  second  day  in  the  Colony  the 


110          SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

mosquitoes  forced  themselves  upon  our 
attention  by  swarming  into  the  cars  as  we 
pursued  our  journey  to  Berbice. 

We  landed  in  New  Amsterdam  while  that 
ancient  town  was  suffering  from  one  of  its 
periodical  mosquito  invasions.  As  we  sat 
at  the  table  they  swarmed  around  our  legs 
and  stung  our  ankles.  As  we  walked  the 
streets  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  carry  long 
dry  grass  bushes  to  drive  them  from  our 
heads  and  necks.  As  we  went  to  church  we 
were  under  the  necessity  of  smearing  every 
exposed  portion  of  the  body  with  citronella 
oil,  and  even  then  constantly  brush  them 
from  our  faces.  Mosquito  brushes  went 
swish,  swish,  swish,  throughout  the  congre- 
gation, during  hymns,  prayers,  and  sermon, 
and  the  only  rest  for  the  weary  and  aching 
body  was  to  be  found  in  the  bed  and  under 
the  net. 

In  Berbice  we  have  invasion  after  inva- 
sion of  these  pests.  Millions  come  down 
upon  the  district.  Laborers  are  often  liter- 
ally driven  from  the  fields  and  there  is  no 
peace  from  the  pests  even  in  the  homes  of 
the  people.  Even  the  well-to-do  people  do 


SNAKES— INSECTS,  ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS  111 

not  screen  but  depend  on  smoke-pots  for 
relief  during  these  invasions.  The  great 
bulk  of  the  population  have  not  even  nets 
for  their  beds,  and  how  they  live  through 
the  times  of  this  scourge  is  beyond  my  com- 
prehension. 

The  inconvenience  caused  by  the  mosqui- 
toes is  painful  and  severe,  although  people 
in  time  become  somewhat  accustomed  to 
them  and  many  people  are  able  to  sleep 
without  nets  and  would  try  to  persuade  you 
that  in  their  portion  of  the  city  or  their  dis- 
trict in  the  country  there  are  no  mosquitoes. 
However,  there  have  been  mosquitoes 
enough  to  keep  me  awake  all  night  in  every 
portion  of  the  colony  that  I  have  visited 
during  six  years,  if  I  was  deprived  of  a 
mosquito  net. 

The  painful  inconvenience  of  mosquitoes 
is  not  the  worst  phase  of  this  question.  But 
the  mosquito  carries  disease  and  practically 
the  whole  colony  suffers  from  malaria  car- 
ried by  the  anopheles. 

For  the  first  two  years  that  I  lived  in 
Hammock  Land  I  suffered  almost  constantly 
with  malaria  and  took  enormous  doses  of 


112          SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

quinine.  After  these  two  years  I  had  a  bet- 
ter house  with  several  screened  rooms,  had 
learned  a  certain  degree  of  discretion  and 
had  become  acclimated.  While  my  early  ex- 
periences were  rather  distressing,  yet  after 
six  years  I  am  persuaded  that  with  a  good 
screened  house,  care  about  sterilized  water, 
and  reasonable  precautions  concerning  activ- 
ities during  the  heat  of  the  day,  one  can 
have  a  very  pleasant  and  safe  sojourn  in 
the  Land  of  the  Hammock. 

This  is  not  the  only  land  that  has  mosqui- 
toes in  super-abundance.  I  have  seen  them  in 
swarms  of  millions  on  the  prairies  of  Dakota 
and  in  the  swamps  of  Ohio.  But  it  is  a 
land  where  the  least  precaution  is  taken 
against  the  mosquito  by  rich  and  poor.  Let 
this  be  corrected  and  I  am  sure  that  the 
death  rate  of  the  colony  will  be  materially 
reduced. 

Among  the  larger  animals  we  have  the 
jaguar,  which  is  often  erroneously  called  a 
tiger,  the  deer,  alligators,  manattee  or  water 
cows,  wild  pigs,  and  tapirs. 

The  tapirs  are  called  maipouri  by  the 
Indians  and  are  good  forest  hunting  and 


MRS.  WHITE'S   S.   S.   CLASS 


NEW   AMSTERDAM    S.    S.   TEACHERS 


ITUNI    SCHOOL 


MOHAMMEDAN    PRAYER    HOUSE 


ITUNI  INDIANS 


SNAKES— INSECTS,  ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS  113 

good  eating.  One  time  one  of  our  Indians 
brought  me  some  meat  and  told  me  that  it 
was  bush  cow.  I  found  out  finally  that  it 
was  tapir.  The  tapir  is  nocturnal  in  its 
habits  and  keeps  to  the  dense  forests,  avoid- 
ing all  open  places.  It  commences  to  feed 
in  the  evening  and  continues  to  seek  food  all 
night.  Tapir  are  sometimes  seen  at  the 
water  side  early  in  the  morning.  Their 
mode  of  life  is  in  many  respects  similar  to 
that  of  swine.  For  instance,  they  like  to 
wallow  in  the  mud,  when  surprised  utter  a 
loud  snort,  and,  while  generally  perfectly 
harmless,  yet  a  mother  when  deprived  of  her 
young  will  sometimes  attack  even  a  person, 
rushing  upon  her  enemies  and  after  knock- 
ing them  over,  trample  upon  them  and  bite 
them  after  the  manner  of  wild  swine.  How- 
ever, in  their  more  solitary  habits  they  pre- 
sent a  closer  resemblance  to  their  cousins, 
the  rhinoceros. 

The  method  employed  by  the  Indians  in 
hunting  both  tapir  and  deer  is  the  same. 
Dogs  are  put  on  their  tracks.  The  Indians 
wait  at  the  waterside,  for  both  deer  and 
tapir  soon  take  to  the  water  to  throw  the 


114          SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

dogs  off  their  scent.  Then  they  are  quickly 
overtaken  by  the  men  in  their  canoes  or 
woodskins  who  dispatch  the  tapir  either  with 
hunting  knife  or  club.  However,  it  is  gener- 
ally the  custom  to  seize  the  deer  by  the  horns 
and  hold  its  head  under  the  water  until  it 
is  drowned. 

Many  monkeys  are  found  in  Hammock 
Land.  One  of  the  most  interesting  ones  is 
the  Red  Howler  monkey,  locally  erroneously 
called  a  baboon.  Charles  Waterton  states 
that  nothing  can  sound  more  dreadful  than 
the  nocturnal  howlings  of  this  red  monkey. 
He  says,  "Whilst  lying  in  your  hammock 
amid  these  gloomy  and  immeasurable  wilds, 
you  hear  him  howling  at  intervals  from  11 
o'clock  at  night  till  daybreak.  You  would 
suppose  that  half  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
forest  were  collecting  for  the  work  of  car- 
nage. Now  it  is  the  tremendous  roar  of 
the  jaguar  as  he  springs  upon  his  prey;  now 
it  changes  to  his  terrible  and  deep-toned 
growlings,  as  he  is  pressed  on  all  sides  by 
superior  force;  and  now  you  hear  his  last 
dying  groan  beneath  a  mortal  wound.  Some 
naturalists  have  supposed  that  these  awful 


SNAKES— INSECTS,  ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS  115 

sounds,  which  you  would  fancy  are  those  of 
enraged  and  dying  wild  beasts,  proceed  from 
a  number  of  red  monkeys  howling  in  con- 
cert. Yet  one  of  them  alone  is  capable  of 
producing  all  of  these  sounds. 

Once  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  smuggle 
myself  under  the  very  tree,  on  the  higher 
branches  of  which  was  perched  a  full-grown 
red  monkey.  I  saw  his  huge  mouth  open 
and  the  protuberance  on  his  inflated  throat. 
I  listened  with  astonishment  to  sounds  which 
might  have  originated  in  the  infernal  regions. 

The  birds  of  Hammock  Land  are  also 
strange  and  wonderful.  The  kiskadee  is  the 
most  obtrusive  and  its  distribution  is  so  gen- 
eral that  it  might  be  well  called  the  sparrow 
of  the  colony.  But  there  are  wonderful 
parrots  and  parroquets  with  their  varie- 
gated colors,  macaws  with  tints  of  gorgeous 
blue  and  red  and  yellow  adorning  their 
plumage;  wonderfully  tiny  humming  birds; 
and  toucans  with  their  gaudy  plumage  and 
ungainly  appearance,  with  bills  as  large  al- 
most as  their  bodies,  currie-curries  with 
their  brilliant  red,  egrets  with  their  tempt- 
ing plumage,  water  hens  and  spur  wings,  all 


116          SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

very  common.  And  then  in  the  interior  the 
rare  Cock  of  the  Rock,  with  his  orange- 
colored  plumage  and  flat-sided  crest,  courts 
the  dull  olive  brown  female  with  his  grace- 
ful dance.  This  bird  is  much  prized  for  its 
plumage,  for  the  Indians  use  its  feathers 
for  their  fancy  headdress  and  other  decora- 
tions. From  the  feathers  of  this  bird  was 
made  the  large  state  mantle  formerly  worn 
by  the  Emperor.  Their  skins  were  required 
as  tribute  from  certain  sections. 

We  have  in  Berbice  a  bird  that  naturalists 
have  declared  to  be  the  most  ancient  bird  in 
existence.  It  is  locally  called  the  Canje 
Pheasant  because  its  habitat  is  along  the 
Canje  Creek.  It  is  also  found  along  the 
Berbice  River.  It  is  the  hoatzin  or  the 
hoactzin.  Its  plumage  is  olivaceous  and  its 
head  is  crested.  Its  young  have  spurs  on  the 
tips  of  their  wings  which  they  use  to  climb 
trees,  and  when  young  it  is  also  able  to  swim 
and  dive  in  the  water.  However,  when 
full-grown  it  is  a  crested  pheasant.  It  lives 
on  the  leaves  of  the  mucca-mucca  which 
grows  in  the  mud  along  the  banks  of  the 
Canje  Creek  and  the  Berbice  River. 


CHAPTER  XL 

SOME  EXPERIENCES  IN  VISITING  OUR 
RIVER  MISSIONS. 

We  would  like  to  give  you  an  idea  of 
some  of  our  experiences  in  making  our  trips 
to  our  River  Missions. 

A  trip  to  the  River  Missions  during  the 
dry  season  is  not  so  bad.  Aside  from  the  fact 
that  the  forward  deck  of  the  river  steamer 
is  then  too  hot  for  comfort  because  of  the 
smoke  stack,  and  the  after  deck  is  too  hot 
because  of  its  low  deck  and  lack  of  breeze, 
and  the  steamer  fare  is  too  hot  with  pepper- 
pot  and  curry,  there  are  few  inconveniences. 

But  a  trip  during  the  wet  season !  Well, 
that  is  another  matter.  Although  the  steamer 
may  have  just  been  in  dry-dock,  the  roof 
leaks  like  a  sieve.  The  floor  is  wet.  The 
only  chairs  that  have  not  become  water  » 
containers  are  those  occupied  by  passengers. 
The  curtains  are  all  down  at  the  sides  and 
the  place  is  insufferably  hot.  Overhead 
lowering,  water-soaked  clouds,  and  under- 

117 


118          SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

neath     a     dirty     and     water-soaked     deck. 

But  at  the  end  of  the  journey  comes  the 
fitting  climax.  You  feel  sure  that  it  is  clear- 
ing up  as  you  near  your  destination  and  get 
your  luggage  together.  Tin  canisters  with 
clothing  and  bedding,  a  canvas  bag  with  a 
folding  canvas  cot,  boxes  with  provisions, 
make  up  the  lot.  Then,  there  is  bread  that 
came  from  the  bakery  just  as  the  boat  left. 
Why  was  it  not  packed  in  a  tin  box?  There 
it  is  wrapped  only  in  newspapers. 

The  boat  whistles  for  your  Mission,  and 
as  though  that  tiny  shrill  whistle  had  power 
to  disturb  the  elements,  the  rain  comes  now 
in  torrents.  Little  dug-out  canoes  shoot  out 
from  the  shore  to  unload  you  in  midstream. 
Already  they  are  half-full  of  water  but  a 
boy  in  each  is  bailing  out  with  a  calabash 
almost  as  fast  as  the  storm  is  refilling  them. 

You  wait  until  your  canisters,  bed  and 
provisions  are  deposited  and  then  with  rain- 
coat and  umbrella  you  step  in.  Ah,  well!  If 
feet  must  get  wet,  degrees  of  wetness  make 
little  difference.  You  still  have  your  um- 
brella and  raincoat  and  they,  you  hope,  will 
keep  your  bread  dry.  But,  alas,  the  umbrella 


VISITING  OUR  RIVER  MISSIONS          119 

simply  changes  the  large  drops  into  some- 
what smaller  ones,  while  your  raincoat, 
guaranteed  in  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  to  turn  any 
storm,  soaks  up  the  tropical  rain  like  a 
sponge.  Soon  everything  is  soaked  and  you 
are  nearing  the  shore.  One  hundred  yards 
yet  to  go  and  the  rain  stops,  the  sun  comes 
out  and  nature  smiles.  She  smiles  at  her 
little  joke  about  your  landing. 

Safe  in  the  Mission  House  you  hurriedly 
unpack.  Your  week's  supply  of  bread  is 
wet.  The  wet  portion  is  cut  off  and  thrown 
away.  Yes,  the  bed  would  have  been  dry 
had  not  the  open  end  of  the  bag  been 
plunged  into  the  water  in  the  boat.  The 
canisters  let  no  water  in  at  the  top  but  the 
bottom  of  one  had  been  sprung  and  plenty 
of  water  entered  that  way.  Oh,  well,  no 
great  harm  is  done.  You  are  safe.  The  rain 
has  stopped  and  the  sun  quickly  dries  all  that 
the  rain  has  soaked  and  night  finds  you  quite 
comfortable  under  your  mosquito  net. 

As  one  travels  up  and  down  the  Berbice 
River  there  are  two  things  that  grow  upon 
him.  The  first  is  an  ever  increasing  appre- 
ciation of  the  beauty  of  that  tropical  stream, 


120          SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

while  the  second  is  a  knowledge  of  the  vile- 
ness  of  degraded  man.  Neither  the  beauty 
nor  the  vileness  are  at  first  so  evident.  Both 
are  revealed  only  upon  close  acquaintance. 
My  first  trip  to  the  Missions  did  not  reveal 
much  beauty;  the  discomforts  were  so  great 
that  they  overshadowed  everything  else. 
The  steamer  was  slow.  The  deck  was  hot. 
The  green  clad  banks  seemed  monotonous. 
Animal  life  was  scarcely  evident.  A  few 
hoactzin  screeched  among  the  mucca-mucca, 
protesting  our  passage,  while  a  few  parrots 
went  shrieking  overhead.  It  was  all  oppres- 
sively hot  and  tedious. 

And  even  after  we  were  ashore  it  was 
very  tiresome.  We  attempted  to  penetrate 
the  bush  a  little  from  the  river  bank  but 
were  soon  covered  with  beatrouch  and  so 
tormented  with  mosquitoes  and  sand  flies 
that  we  were  forced  to  return.  During  our 
entire  stay  of  ten  days  we  suffered  constantly 
with  insects. 

But  before  we  had  taken  many  trips  we 
learned  to  guard  against  the  different  pests. 
Animal  life  began  to  be  revealed  to  our 
more  accustomed  eyes.  Now  a  deer  would 


VISITING  OUR  RIVER  MISSIONS          121 

be  surprised  sleeping  in  the  forest  shade, 
tracks  of  tapir  would  be  found  at  the  water- 
ing places,  cries  of  tigers  became  familiar  to 
our  ears.  Snakes  were  seen  basking  in  the 
sun  or  hurrying  to  shelter  as  we  walked 
along.  Baboons  howled  at  us  as  intruders 
from  the  water  side.  Sweet-singing  and 
bright-plumed  birds  appeared  as  by  magic. 
Myriads  of  radiant  butterflies  tempted  us  to 
amateur  lepidoptery.  Delicate  fragrances 
lured  us  to  the  discovery  of  flowers  and 
fruits,  or  a  splash  of  gold  revealed  won- 
derful orchids. 

The  different  seasons  began  to  show  dif- 
ferent splendors,  when  at  first  there  seemed 
to  be  one  season  for  the  whole  year.  Seed 
time  and  harvest  finally  became  significant. 

The  night  sounds  of  the  tropical  jungle 
began  to  reveal  their  language  and  the  story 
of  the  night  often  drove  the  sleep  from  the 
tired  eyes  and  kept  one  alert  until  the  dawn 
as  often  a  good  book  does. 

The  quick  drawing  of  the  curtains  of  the 
night,  the  glory  of  the  tropical  moon,  the 
radiant  burst  of  the  morning  light,  all  of 
these  spoke  of  the  lavish  kindness  with  which 


122          SIX  YEARS  IN  HAMMOCK  LAND 

the  gifts  of  God  were  strewn  upon  that 
quiet-flowing  dark  brown  river  in  that  trop- 
ical land.  All  these  things  appeared  upon 
close  acquaintance  like  charms  and  graces 
revealed  only  in  the  circle  of  beloved  friend- 
ship or  in  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  home. 
An  intimate  knowledge  of  this  country  makes 
one  exclaim: 

"With  lavish  kindness 
The  gifts  of  God  are  strown." 

How  often  have  we  thought  uAnd  only 
man  is  vile,"  a  hackneyed  expression,  yet 
along  with  the  revelation  of  the  beauty  of 
the  place,  there  came  also  an  increasingly 
vivid  revelation  of  the  depravity  of  many 
of  the  people  who  share  this  forest  home 
with  the  timid  deer,  the  sneaking  tiger,  the 
sluggish  sloth,  the  happy  birds,  and  the  jab- 
bering monkeys. 

At  first  all  the  people  seemed  normal. 
They  came  to  Church  properly  dressed. 
They  listened  to  the  sermons  with  attention. 
They  were  respectful  in  their  attitude.  They 
seemed  to  be  sincerely  anxious  to  lead  truly 
Christian  lives.  Many  of  them  were  found 
upon  close  acquaintance  to  be  truly  sincere 


VISITING  OUR  RIVER  MISSIONS          123 

and  noble  people  of  God.  But  so  many  still 
believe  in  and  fear  the  obeah  man;  so  many 
live  lives  of  immorality  unashamed;  so 
many  children  are  illegitimate ;  so  many  acts 
of  brutality  are  committed  unrebuked  that 
the  old  time  Mission  Hymn  still  applies  to 
this  country  with  force  and  truth,  and  sadly 
we  must  say  that  for  many  it  is : 

"In  vain  with  lavish  kindness 
The  gifts  of  God  are  strown." 


I  ,  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEFT 

This  be  '   ?'  'ast  H     •»  '     *low,  or 

Renewe^  *        s  recall. 


w   ^ 

14Ja 

j 

v  |  Q  7950 

CCT?b 

AUTO  DISC  CIRC  AUG 

5^  '94 

NOV  0  8  1999 

LD  21A-50m-8,'57 
(C8481slO)476B 

General  Library 
University  of  California 
Berkeley 

U.  C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


